--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you are simply observing your…" description: "\"When you are simply observing your breath, you are perceiving an automatically unfolding process in your body. By contrast, when you are observing your..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/thomas-metzinger-13958_activity_when-you-are-simply-observing-your-breat_1280852.png" --- # When you are simply observing your breath, you are… ![“When you are simply observing your breath, you are perceiving an automatically unfolding process in your body. By contrast, when you are observing your wandering mind, you are also experiencing the spontaneous activity of a process in your body.” quote by Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/thomas-metzinger-13958_activity_when-you-are-simply-observing-your-breat_1280852.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/thomas-metzinger-13958_activity_when-you-are-simply-observing-your-breat_1280852.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/thomas-metzinger-13958_activity_when-you-are-simply-observing-your-breat_1280852.png) > “When you are simply observing your breath, you are perceiving an automatically unfolding process in your body. By contrast, when you are observing your wandering mind, you are also experiencing the spontaneous activity of a process in your body.” [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Observing breath shows automatic bodily processes; observing mind reveals spontaneous mental activity. **In simple terms:** Breath is automatic; mind wanders. Key Takeaway Notice both body and mind. Themes mindfulness consciousness embodiment Mood calm inquisitive Type educational reflective When to use this quote - meditation - stress reduction - self‑analysis Key Concepts neuroscience philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does breath awareness affect mental clarity? - What benefits arise from observing wandering thoughts? A Different Perspective Mind wandering can distract from insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breath/) [Breaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breaths/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Spontaneous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spontaneous/) [Wandering mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wandering-mind/) ## Related quotes > [“The mind cannot really rest or be still: it is either busy, or non-existent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-mind-cannot-really-rest-or-be-still-it-is-either-busy-or-non/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The breath is the rein for the mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-breath-is-the-rein-for-the-mind/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The mind is a drama queen that gets too embarrassed to continue acting up, after only a few seconds of getting our undivided attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-mind-is-a-drama-queen-that-gets-too-embarrassed-to-continue/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“We cannot really experience something while we are thinking, not even the act of thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/we-cannot-really-experience-something-while-we-are-thinking-not-even/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Meditation is generally an alternation between the feeling of bliss and the witnessing of a thought having a problem with the having of thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/meditation-is-generally-an-alternation-between-the-feeling-of-bliss/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/renewed-shall-be-blade-that-was-broken-the-crownless-again-shall-be/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [“Yoga practice can make us more and more sensitive to subtler and subtler sensations in the body. Paying attention to and staying with finer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-ravindra/yoga-practice-can-make-us-more-and-more-sensitive-to-subtler-and/) [Ravi Ravindra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-ravindra/) > [“The mind is a sweetheart, when it is wondering; and a bitch, when it is wandering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-mind-is-a-sweetheart-when-it-is-wondering-and-a-bitch-when-it-is/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“...Jesus opens his arms to his needy children and says, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-e-miller/jesus-opens-his-arms-to-his-needy-children-and-says-come-to-me-all/) [Paul E. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-e-miller/) > [“Evagrius said, ‘A wandering mind is strengthened by reading, and prayer. Passion is dampened down by hunger and work and solitude. Anger is repressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedicta-ward/evagrius-said-a-wandering-mind-is-strengthened-by-reading-and-prayer/) [Benedicta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedicta-ward/) > [“I do not think I’m easy to define. I have a wandering mind. And I’m not anything that you think I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-hoff/i-do-not-think-i-m-easy-to-define-i-have-a-wandering-mind-and-i-m-not/) Syd Hoff > [Your goal is not to battle with the mind, but to witness the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-muktananda/your-goal-is-not-to-battle-with-the-mind-but-to-witness-the-mind/) [Swami Muktananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-muktananda/) > [Sometimes I get lost in my thoughts, just wandering around in my own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-get-lost-in-my-thoughts-just-wandering-around-in-my-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The criteria for coming to Jesus is weariness. Come overwhelmed with life. Come with your wandering mind. Come messy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-e-miller/the-criteria-for-coming-to-jesus-is-weariness-come-overwhelmed-with/) [Paul E. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-e-miller/) > [Remember that breath walking - as with any meditation technique - should not be pursued with a grim determination to 'get it right.' The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/remember-that-breath-walking-as-with-any-meditation-technique-should/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) ## More by Thomas Metzinger > [For a human being, to possess a consciously experienced first-person perspective means to have acquired a very specific functional profile and distinctive level of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/for-a-human-being-to-possess-a-consciously-experienced-first-person/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [At 19, I basically held the position that if you were intellectually honest and really wanted to get in touch with political reality then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/at-19-i-basically-held-the-position-that-if-you-were-intellectually/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [I think that there is an ongoing conspiracy in the philosophical community, an organized form of self-deception, as in a cult, to simply all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/i-think-that-there-is-an-ongoing-conspiracy-in-the-philosophical/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [You cannot be a rational subject without veto-control on the level of mental action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/you-cannot-be-a-rational-subject-without-veto-control-on-the-level-of/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [Someone who cannot stop his outer flow of words will soon be unable to communicate with other human beings at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/someone-who-cannot-stop-his-outer-flow-of-words-will-soon-be-unable/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [I believe that if we would carefully apply the distinction between transparency and opacity to the different layers of the human self-model, looking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/i-believe-that-if-we-would-carefully-apply-the-distinction-between/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [As far as inner action is concerned, we are only rarely truly self-determined persons, for the major part of our conscious mental activity rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/as-far-as-inner-action-is-concerned-we-are-only-rarely-truly-self/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [Subjectivity means to catch yourself in the act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/subjectivity-means-to-catch-yourself-in-the-act/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [Subjectivity is an ability, the capacity to use a new inner mode of presenting the fact that you currently know something to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/subjectivity-is-an-ability-the-capacity-to-use-a-new-inner-mode-of/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [One of the interesting characteristics of the Ego Tunnel is that it creates (as Finnish philosopher Antti Revonsuo called it) a robust "out-of-the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/one-of-the-interesting-characteristics-of-the-ego-tunnel-is-that-it/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [As a first-order approximation, I would say that phenomenality is "availability for introspective attention": Consciousness is a property of all those mental contents to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/as-a-first-order-approximation-i-would-say-that-phenomenality-is/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [I could never understand how someone would embark on their life without having first confronted and clarified the truly fundamental questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/i-could-never-understand-how-someone-would-embark-on-their-life/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [A lot of evidence shows that most of our cognitive processing is unconscious - phenomenal experience is just a very small slice or partition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/a-lot-of-evidence-shows-that-most-of-our-cognitive-processing-is/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [“First, we developed the self-model, because we had to integrate our sensory perceptions with our bodily behavior. Then this self-model became conscious, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/first-we-developed-the-self-model-because-we-had-to-integrate-our/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [Only as long as we believe in our own identity over time does it make sense for us to make future plans, avoid risks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/only-as-long-as-we-believe-in-our-own-identity-over-time-does-it-make/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) [Explore all 47 Thomas Metzinger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) Gero Miesenbock > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you are simply observing your breath, you are perceiving an automatically unfolding process in your body. By contrast, when you are observing your wandering mind, you are also experiencing the spontaneous activity of a process in your body.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Metzinger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/when-you-are-simply-observing-your-breath-you-are-perceiving-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Activity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/when-you-are-simply-observing-your-breath-you-are-perceiving-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/thomas-metzinger-13958_activity_when-you-are-simply-observing-your-breat_1280852.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/thomas-metzinger-13958_activity_when-you-are-simply-observing-your-breat_1280852.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/thomas-metzinger-13958_activity_when-you-are-simply-observing-your-breat_1280852.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you are simply observing your breath, you are perceiving an automatically unfolding process in your…” — Thomas Metzinger", "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 Metzinger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you are simply observing your...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/when-you-are-simply-observing-your-breath-you-are-perceiving-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/when-you-are-simply-observing-your-breath-you-are-perceiving-an/#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 } } ] } ```