--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Chaos is what we've lost touch with. This…" description: "\"Chaos is what we've lost touch with. This is why it is given a bad name. It is feared by the dominant archetype of our world, which is Ego, which clenc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/terence-mckenna-287_archetype_chaos-is-what-we-ve-lost-touch-with-this_1289303.png" --- # Chaos is what we've lost touch with. This is why it is… ![“Chaos is what we've lost touch with. This is why it is given a bad name. It is feared by the dominant archetype of our world, which is Ego, which clenches because its existence is defined in terms of control.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/terence-mckenna-287_archetype_chaos-is-what-we-ve-lost-touch-with-this_1289303.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/terence-mckenna-287_archetype_chaos-is-what-we-ve-lost-touch-with-this_1289303.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b14/terence-mckenna-287_archetype_chaos-is-what-we-ve-lost-touch-with-this_1289303.png) > “Chaos is what we've lost touch with. This is why it is given a bad name. It is feared by the dominant archetype of our world, which is Ego, which clenches because its existence is defined in terms of control.” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chaos is misunderstood and feared because ego seeks control, but embracing it can restore balance. **In simple terms:** Ego fears chaos; embracing it restores balance. Key Takeaway Allow uncertainty to guide growth. Themes philosophy ego chaos control Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - creative work - leadership - personal development - conflict management Key Concepts nondualism psychology spirituality Questions to Reflect On - What does chaos mean to you? - How can you balance ego and uncertainty? A Different Perspective Chaos can be destructive if not integrated wisely. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Archetype](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archetype/) [Archetype World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archetype-world-4194439/) [Chaos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos/) [Chaos Ve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chaos-ve-4194437/) [Clenches Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clenches-existence-4194438/) [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Ego Clenches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego-clenches-4194436/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Our world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-world/) [Term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/term/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-ego-773170/) ## Related quotes > [I'm chaos, I've always been chaos, my point on Earth is chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/i-m-chaos-i-ve-always-been-chaos-my-point-on-earth-is-chaos/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [Everybody in the world has an ego. The only difference between us is we have a reason to have an ego.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-barkley/everybody-in-the-world-has-an-ego-the-only-difference-between-us-is/) [Charles Barkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-barkley/) > [We live in a calculative world and have a calculative mind, and in such a world, ego dominates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/we-live-in-a-calculative-world-and-have-a-calculative-mind-and-in/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [“The natural desire of the human mind is to become special - to become special in the ways of the world, to have many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/the-natural-desire-of-the-human-mind-is-to-become-special-to-become-2/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [As long as the mind and ego control the direction of creating, there will always be problems in the outer world, for the ego…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drunvalo-melchizedek/as-long-as-the-mind-and-ego-control-the-direction-of-creating-there/) [Drunvalo Melchizedek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drunvalo-melchizedek/) > [Individually we can work on ourselves. By working on your own ego and developing truth, control, and an equitable inner dialogue, you individualize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-wilde/individually-we-can-work-on-ourselves-by-working-on-your-own-ego-and/) [Stuart Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-wilde/) > [The Self alone exists. When you try to trace the ego, which is the basis of the perception of the world and everything else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/the-self-alone-exists-when-you-try-to-trace-the-ego-which-is-the/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [“The ego destroys the world as well it is the ego which grows the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/the-ego-destroys-the-world-as-well-it-is-the-ego-which-grows-the-world/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [The ego holds us to this world. The ego is the feeling that you are. But you are not, nor have you ever been,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/the-ego-holds-us-to-this-world-the-ego-is-the-feeling-that-you-are/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Psychedelic drugs, especially psilocybin, allow a searchlight to be thrown on these deeper levels of the psyche, as Jung correctly stated. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/psychedelic-drugs-especially-psilocybin-allow-a-searchlight-to-be/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [A history-stopping archetype is being released into the skies of this planet, and if we are not careful it will halt all intellectual inquiry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/a-history-stopping-archetype-is-being-released-into-the-skies-of-this/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The things I encounter that I call elves or gnomes, it's just a gloss. I mean, they're small, and they have the archetype. They're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-things-i-encounter-that-i-call-elves-or-gnomes-it-s-just-a-gloss/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [All ages before ours believed in gods in some form or other. Only an unparalleled impoverishment in symbolism could enable us to rediscover the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/all-ages-before-ours-believed-in-gods-in-some-form-or-other-only-an/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Once my paintings are complete, the model no longer lives in the painting as themselves. I see something bigger, more symbolic - an archetype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sherald/once-my-paintings-are-complete-the-model-no-longer-lives-in-the/) [Amy Sherald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sherald/) > [My characters are all kind of geek archetypes of people I've encountered at gaming and comic book conventions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/my-characters-are-all-kind-of-geek-archetypes-of-people-i-ve/) [Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/) ## More by Terence McKenna > [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. 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In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. 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I see something bigger, more symbolic - an archetype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sherald/once-my-paintings-are-complete-the-model-no-longer-lives-in-the/) [Amy Sherald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sherald/) > [All ages before ours believed in gods in some form or other. Only an unparalleled impoverishment in symbolism could enable us to rediscover the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/all-ages-before-ours-believed-in-gods-in-some-form-or-other-only-an/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Certain mystical philosophers have personified Destiny, and from this point of view each man's personal destiny is his archetype or "other self"--his "angel"--with whom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-le-gai-eaton/certain-mystical-philosophers-have-personified-destiny-and-from-this/) [Charles le Gai Eaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-le-gai-eaton/) > [I think people have this stereotypical idea in their head of what a nerd is. People have said to me before, "You're not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hardwick/i-think-people-have-this-stereotypical-idea-in-their-head-of-what-a/) [Chris Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hardwick/) > [Unconscious of your story, you are in its grasp; but with consciousness, an alchemical process begins: The solidity of the complex dissolves and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/connie-zweig/unconscious-of-your-story-you-are-in-its-grasp-but-with-consciousness/) [Connie Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/connie-zweig/) > [I am the reality of all coyotes. The archetype. The epitome. You are just a reflection of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/i-am-the-reality-of-all-coyotes-the-archetype-the-epitome-you-are/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Once you become a celebrity, you are no longer a person, but an archetype.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennette-mccurdy/once-you-become-a-celebrity-you-are-no-longer-a-person-but-an/) [Jennette McCurdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennette-mccurdy/) > [Any legend, any creature, any symbol we ever stumble on, already exists in a vast cosmic reservoir where archetypes wait. 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You are an infinitely complex human being with stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-myss/you-are-far-more-than-your-personality-more-than-your-habits-more/) [Caroline Myss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-myss/) [Browse all 167 Archetype quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archetype/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Chaos is what we've lost touch with. This is why it is given a bad name. 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