--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The divine therapy helps us integrate our…" description: "\"The divine therapy helps us integrate our animal nature with the new possibilities of rational consciousness.\" — Thomas Keating" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/thomas-keating-10246_animal_the-divine-therapy-helps-us-integrate-ou_2362108.jpg" --- # The divine therapy helps us integrate our animal nature… ![“The divine therapy helps us integrate our animal nature with the new possibilities of rational consciousness.” quote by Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/thomas-keating-10246_animal_the-divine-therapy-helps-us-integrate-ou_2362108.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/thomas-keating-10246_animal_the-divine-therapy-helps-us-integrate-ou_2362108.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/thomas-keating-10246_animal_the-divine-therapy-helps-us-integrate-ou_2362108.jpg) > “The divine therapy helps us integrate our animal nature with the new possibilities of rational consciousness.” [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Integrating instinctual drives with higher reasoning creates balanced growth. **In simple terms:** Blend animal instincts with rational mind. Key Takeaway Cultivate both instinct and reason. Themes spirituality psychology self‑development Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal therapy - leadership - creative problem solving - conflict resolution Key Concepts integration consciousness dualism Questions to Reflect On - How can you honor instinct while exercising reason? - What practices help balance these aspects? A Different Perspective May overlook cultural or biological constraints on instincts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-nature-968418/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Divine Therapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine-therapy-305738/) [Helping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helping/) [Integrate Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrate-animal-5786642/) [Integrating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/integrating/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [New possibilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-possibilities/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Rational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational/) [Rational Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational-consciousness-933363/) [Therapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapy/) [Therapy Helps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapy-helps-308493/) ## Related quotes > [As the years go by, I find myself experiencing God's extraordinary concern, consideration, healing, and what I call in my books, the divine therapy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/as-the-years-go-by-i-find-myself-experiencing-god-s-extraordinary/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [Lent is a time to renew wherever we are in that process that I call the divine therapy. It's a time to look what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/lent-is-a-time-to-renew-wherever-we-are-in-that-process-that-i-call/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [Our normal waking consciousness, rational consciousness as we call it, is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-normal-waking-consciousness-rational-consciousness-as-we-call-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Whatever is beyond this narrow rational consciousness we mistake for our only consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/whatever-is-beyond-this-narrow-rational-consciousness-we-mistake-for/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“This requires a lifetime of divine therapy: having our minds and hearts transformed by God’s Word.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-horton/this-requires-a-lifetime-of-divine-therapy-having-our-minds-and/) [Michael S. Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-horton/) > [I realized that therapy helps me explain what I'm feeling better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlamagne-tha-god/i-realized-that-therapy-helps-me-explain-what-i-m-feeling-better/) [Charlamagne tha God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlamagne-tha-god/) > [Good therapy helps. Good friends help. Pretending that we are doing better than we are doesn't. Shame doesn't. Being heard does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/good-therapy-helps-good-friends-help-pretending-that-we-are-doing/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [A lot of my instincts would like to run wild, as you recall, but I keep them in check. Therapy helps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-downey-jr-2/a-lot-of-my-instincts-would-like-to-run-wild-as-you-recall-but-i-keep/) [Robert Downey Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-downey-jr-2/) > [Music is almost like a therapy for me. It helps keep me centered and think straight. Before I discovered it, I was walking around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/music-is-almost-like-a-therapy-for-me-it-helps-keep-me-centered-and/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [Mental therapy helps the individual to rectify or minimize their errors which they are doing since their childhood and I have taken such therapies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pooja-batra/mental-therapy-helps-the-individual-to-rectify-or-minimize-their/) [Pooja Batra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pooja-batra/) > [The trouble with most therapy is that it helps you feel better. But you don't get better. You have to back it up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/the-trouble-with-most-therapy-is-that-it-helps-you-feel-better-but/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [It's incredible, but I will sing the praises of therapy. I think everybody should be in therapy. It helps so much to have somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-purser/it-s-incredible-but-i-will-sing-the-praises-of-therapy-i-think/) [Shannon Purser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-purser/) > [What strength belongs to every plant and animal in nature. The tree or the brook has no duplicity, no pretentiousness, no show. It is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/what-strength-belongs-to-every-plant-and-animal-in-nature-the-tree-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“...it is our animal nature to judge the weak more harshly, owing to how survival depends upon weeding these creatures out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-rindell/it-is-our-animal-nature-to-judge-the-weak-more-harshly-owing-to-how/) [Suzanne Rindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-rindell/) > [The purpose of life is to stay alive. Watch any animal in nature--all it tries to do is stay alive. It doesn't care about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/the-purpose-of-life-is-to-stay-alive-watch-any-animal-in-nature-all/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) ## More by Thomas Keating > [It is essential for world peace that the world religions make peace with each other. If they don't, we can hardly expect the nations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/it-is-essential-for-world-peace-that-the-world-religions-make-peace/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [In the Christian perspective, the love of God and of all other human beings invites us to share and enjoy not just the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/in-the-christian-perspective-the-love-of-god-and-of-all-other-human/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [Science and technology have been embarrassed by two world wars, many smaller ones, and the spread of weapons that could destroy humanity. As a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/science-and-technology-have-been-embarrassed-by-two-world-wars-many/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [“As St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) taught, whatever we say about God is more unlike God than saying nothing. If we do say something, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/as-st-thomas-aquinas-1225-1274-taught-whatever-we-say-about-god-is/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [Humility is the forgetfulness of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/humility-is-the-forgetfulness-of-self/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [God will bring people and events into our lives, and whatever we may think about them, they are designed for the evolution of His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/god-will-bring-people-and-events-into-our-lives-and-whatever-we-may/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [For human beings, the most daunting challenge is to become fully human. For to become fully human is to become fully divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/for-human-beings-the-most-daunting-challenge-is-to-become-fully-human/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [The acceptance of all that God has given us and the willingness to let it go - to give it back to him at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/the-acceptance-of-all-that-god-has-given-us-and-the-willingness-to/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [The complementary movement towards divine love is growth in humility which is the acceptence of the reality about ourselves, our own weakness and limitations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/the-complementary-movement-towards-divine-love-is-growth-in-humility/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [St. Teresa of Avila wrote: 'All difficulties in prayer can be traced to one cause: praying as if God were absent.' This is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/st-teresa-of-avila-wrote-all-difficulties-in-prayer-can-be-traced-to/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [I venture to say that it's not enough to respect and tolerate religions other than our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/i-venture-to-say-that-it-s-not-enough-to-respect-and-tolerate/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [God's first language is Silence. Everything else is a translation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/god-s-first-language-is-silence-everything-else-is-a-translation/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [Union with God is really possible. Unity with God I presume, is what is meant by Heaven, but that too is available in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/union-with-god-is-really-possible-unity-with-god-i-presume-is-what-is/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [Every time you have a major breakthrough in self-knowledge, and see the way the divine works within your own psyche, external events, and interior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/every-time-you-have-a-major-breakthrough-in-self-knowledge-and-see/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) > [“To live in the presence of God on a continuous basis can become a kind of fourth dimension to our three-dimensional world, forming an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/to-live-in-the-presence-of-god-on-a-continuous-basis-can-become-a/) [Thomas Keating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) [Explore all 67 Thomas Keating quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. 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": "The divine therapy helps us integrate our animal nature with the new possibilities of rational consciousness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Keating" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/the-divine-therapy-helps-us-integrate-our-animal-nature-with-the-new/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/the-divine-therapy-helps-us-integrate-our-animal-nature-with-the-new/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/thomas-keating-10246_animal_the-divine-therapy-helps-us-integrate-ou_2362108.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/thomas-keating-10246_animal_the-divine-therapy-helps-us-integrate-ou_2362108.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c70/thomas-keating-10246_animal_the-divine-therapy-helps-us-integrate-ou_2362108.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The divine therapy helps us integrate our animal nature with the new possibilities of rational consciousness.” — Thomas Keating", "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": "Thomas Keating", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-keating/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The divine therapy helps us integrate...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/the-divine-therapy-helps-us-integrate-our-animal-nature-with-the-new/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-keating/the-divine-therapy-helps-us-integrate-our-animal-nature-with-the-new/#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 } } ] } ```