--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Inwardness is the characteristic feature…" description: "\"Inwardness is the characteristic feature of the vegetable rather than the animal approach to existence. The animals move, migrate and swarm, while plan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/terence-mckenna-287_animal_inwardness-is-the-characteristic-feature_425643.jpg" --- # Inwardness is the characteristic feature of the vegetable… ![“Inwardness is the characteristic feature of the vegetable rather than the animal approach to existence. The animals move, migrate and swarm, while plants hold fast. Plants live in a dimension characterised by solid state, the fixed and the enduring. If there is movement in the consciousness of…” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/terence-mckenna-287_animal_inwardness-is-the-characteristic-feature_425643.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/terence-mckenna-287_animal_inwardness-is-the-characteristic-feature_425643.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e46/terence-mckenna-287_animal_inwardness-is-the-characteristic-feature_425643.jpg) > “Inwardness is the characteristic feature of the vegetable rather than the animal approach to existence. The animals move, migrate and swarm, while plants hold fast. Plants live in a dimension characterised by solid state, the fixed and the enduring. If there is movement in the consciousness of plants then it must be the movement of spirit and attention in the domain of vegetal imagination. (...) This is the truth that the shamans have always known and practiced. Awareness of the green side of mind was called Veriditas by the twelfth century visionary Hildegard Von Bingen.” [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. Plants embody a still, inward consciousness contrasting with animal movement, suggesting a deep, enduring imagination. **In simple terms:** Plants are inward, steady, unlike active animals. Key Takeaway Observe and value inner stillness. Themes nature consciousness spirituality biology Mood reflective calm inspired Type philosophical poetic nature‑focused When to use this quote - gardening - meditation - environmental education - creative writing - ecopsychology Key Concepts Veriditas vegetal imagination shamanic insight Questions to Reflect On - How can we nurture inner stillness in a fast-paced world? - What lessons do plant rhythms teach about resilience? A Different Perspective Plants also respond to external stimuli, so stillness isn’t absolute. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Domain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domain/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Hold fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hold-fast/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Visionaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visionaries/) ## Related quotes > [If poetry and the arts do anything, they can fortify your inner life, your inwardness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/if-poetry-and-the-arts-do-anything-they-can-fortify-your-inner-life/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [“Paradoxically (since people say: Work, amuse yourself, see friends) it’s when we’re busy, distracted, sought out, exteriorized, that we suffer most. Inwardness, calm, solitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/paradoxically-since-people-say-work-amuse-yourself-see-friends-it-s/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [To recognize another's inwardness is to have seen the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-koestenbaum/to-recognize-another-s-inwardness-is-to-have-seen-the-sacred/) [Peter Koestenbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-koestenbaum/) > [“Consciousness is inwardness in time. 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We are right to lay stress on inwardness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/outward-as-well-as-inward-morality-helps-to-form-the-idea-of-a-true/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) ## 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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It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Inwardness is the characteristic feature of the vegetable rather than the animal approach to existence. The animals move, migrate and swarm, while plants hold fast. Plants live in a dimension characterised by solid state, the fixed and the enduring. If there is movement in the consciousness of plants then it must be the movement of spirit and attention in the domain of vegetal imagination. (...) This is the truth that the shamans have always known and practiced. 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