--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Catastrophes are often stimulated by the…" description: "\"Catastrophes are often stimulated by the failure to feel the emergence of a domain, and so what cannot be felt in the imagination is experienced as emb..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/william-irwin-thompson-19769_catastrophe_catastrophes-are-often-stimulated-by-the_1306617.jpg" --- # Catastrophes are often stimulated by the failure to feel… ![“Catastrophes are often stimulated by the failure to feel the emergence of a domain, and so what cannot be felt in the imagination is experienced as embodied sensation in the catastrophe.” quote by William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/william-irwin-thompson-19769_catastrophe_catastrophes-are-often-stimulated-by-the_1306617.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/william-irwin-thompson-19769_catastrophe_catastrophes-are-often-stimulated-by-the_1306617.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/william-irwin-thompson-19769_catastrophe_catastrophes-are-often-stimulated-by-the_1306617.jpg) > “Catastrophes are often stimulated by the failure to feel the emergence of a domain, and so what cannot be felt in the imagination is experienced as embodied sensation in the catastrophe.” [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When we ignore subtle signs of a developing crisis, we miss the chance to anticipate it, turning imagined threats into visceral catastrophes. **In simple terms:** Ignoring early warnings makes crises feel physical. Key Takeaway Pay attention to subtle signals. Themes awareness prevention psychology Mood concerned reflective Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - personal relationships - environmental monitoring - mental health - risk management Key Concepts systems thinking embodied cognition Questions to Reflect On - How can you train yourself to notice subtle changes? - What domains are you most likely to overlook? A Different Perspective Not all emerging issues are perceptible; some require deliberate mindfulness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/) [Catastrophes Stimulated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophes-stimulated-4308487/) [Domain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domain/) [Embodied Sensation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embodied-sensation-4308488/) [Emergence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emergence/) [Experienced Embodied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experienced-embodied-4308490/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Feel Emergence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-emergence-4308489/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Sensation Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensation-catastrophe-4308486/) ## Related quotes > [Hominid and human evolution took place over millions and not billions of years, but with the emergence of language there was a further acceleration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/hominid-and-human-evolution-took-place-over-millions-and-not-billions/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [One way to find food for thought is to use the fork in the road, the bifurcation that marks the place of emergence in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/one-way-to-find-food-for-thought-is-to-use-the-fork-in-the-road-the/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [With the emergence of civilization, the rate of change shifted from hundreds of thousands of years to millennia. With the emergence of science as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/with-the-emergence-of-civilization-the-rate-of-change-shifted-from/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [Working with HBO was an opportunity to experience creative freedom and 'long-form development' that filmmakers didn't have a chance to do before the emergence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/working-with-hbo-was-an-opportunity-to-experience-creative-freedom/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [“Pick up a pinecone and count the spiral rows of scales. You may find eight spirals winding up to the left and 13 spirals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-kauffman/pick-up-a-pinecone-and-count-the-spiral-rows-of-scales-you-may-find/) [Stuart Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-kauffman/) > [I am for God, I am the lover of God, I am loved by God, I am the servant of God, I am the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/i-am-for-god-i-am-the-lover-of-god-i-am-loved-by-god-i-am-the-servant/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [“Be in the world but not of it; become less attached to outcome and more attuned to outgo, which is the natural radiance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-rydall/be-in-the-world-but-not-of-it-become-less-attached-to-outcome-and/) [Derek Rydall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-rydall/) > [“The phenomenon of emergence takes place at critical points of instability that arise from fluctuations in the environment, amplified by feedback loops.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fritjof-capra/the-phenomenon-of-emergence-takes-place-at-critical-points-of/) [Fritjof Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fritjof-capra/) > [It can be a long gap between the emergence of fully researched historical biographies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonia-fraser/it-can-be-a-long-gap-between-the-emergence-of-fully-researched/) [Antonia Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonia-fraser/) > [A vision is not something we make up, it's something we are MADE OF.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-rydall/a-vision-is-not-something-we-make-up-it-s-something-we-are-made-of/) [Derek Rydall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-rydall/) > [The moment of truth, the sudden emergence of a new insight, is an act of intuition. Such intuitions give the appearance of miraculous flushes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-moment-of-truth-the-sudden-emergence-of-a-new-insight-is-an-act/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [“Acorn struggles in pain to crack the hard shell and emerge. For it senses that out there… exists more and it knows it. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-rumi/acorn-struggles-in-pain-to-crack-the-hard-shell-and-emerge-for-it/) [Robin Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-rumi/) > [“An ancient statement declares that “God is no respecter of persons.” What this means at the mystical level is that Spirit/The Universe doesn’t know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-rydall/an-ancient-statement-declares-that-god-is-no-respecter-of-persons/) [Derek Rydall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-rydall/) > [The mantra of the new historicists was "we have betrayed ourselves." Since their emergence, there have been more or less interesting paradigm shifts having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fry/the-mantra-of-the-new-historicists-was-we-have-betrayed-ourselves/) [Paul Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-fry/) > [“On the journey of spiritual transformation, you want to lose your baggage. In fact, you want to make sure all of it is lost,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-rydall/on-the-journey-of-spiritual-transformation-you-want-to-lose-your/) [Derek Rydall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-rydall/) ## More by William Irwin Thompson > [The planets are not hunks of stuff out there but nodes of vibration that resonate in multiple dimensions that enfold themselves into one another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/the-planets-are-not-hunks-of-stuff-out-there-but-nodes-of-vibration/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [In the domain of cops and robbers, an interdiction serves to structure a black market and a shadow economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/in-the-domain-of-cops-and-robbers-an-interdiction-serves-to-structure/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [Ideologies do not map the complete living processes of a World.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/ideologies-do-not-map-the-complete-living-processes-of-a-world/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [That shoreline where the island of knowing meets the unfathomable sea of our own being is the landscape of myth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/that-shoreline-where-the-island-of-knowing-meets-the-unfathomable-sea/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [What is at the higher levels of meaning consciousness is like a hyperspace in which each point is equidistant from the other and where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/what-is-at-the-higher-levels-of-meaning-consciousness-is-like-a/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [Idealistic reformers are dangerous because their idealism has no roots in love, but is simply a hysterical and unbalanced rage for order amidst their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/idealistic-reformers-are-dangerous-because-their-idealism-has-no/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [Like a shadow that does not permit us to jump over it, but moves with us to maintain its proper distance, pollution is nature's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/like-a-shadow-that-does-not-permit-us-to-jump-over-it-but-moves-with/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [The teacher of history's work should be, ideally, not simply a description of past cultures, but a performance of the culture in which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/the-teacher-of-history-s-work-should-be-ideally-not-simply-a/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [The more chaos there is, the more science holds on to abstract systems of control, and the more chaos is engendered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/the-more-chaos-there-is-the-more-science-holds-on-to-abstract-systems/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [A World is not an ideology nor a scientific institution, nor is it even a system of ideologies; rather, it is a structure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/a-world-is-not-an-ideology-nor-a-scientific-institution-nor-is-it/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [But the time has come; the revelation has already occurred, and the guardian seers have seen the lightning strike the darkness we call reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/but-the-time-has-come-the-revelation-has-already-occurred-and-the/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [I don't think anyone now really understands the planetisation of mankind, really understands the new world order emerging through all this period of strain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/i-don-t-think-anyone-now-really-understands-the-planetisation-of/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [With the emergence of civilization, the rate of change shifted from hundreds of thousands of years to millennia. With the emergence of science as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/with-the-emergence-of-civilization-the-rate-of-change-shifted-from/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [If you do not create your destiny, you will have your fate inflicted upon you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/if-you-do-not-create-your-destiny-you-will-have-your-fate-inflicted/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [If a person is open to a new world view, it can often mean that he is not firmly rooted in the reality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/if-a-person-is-open-to-a-new-world-view-it-can-often-mean-that-he-is/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) [Explore all 32 William Irwin Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) ## More Catastrophe quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“..the sense of a catastrophe perpetually invoked and avoided creates a rapture in whose depths horror and pleasure coincide...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-leiris/the-sense-of-a-catastrophe-perpetually-invoked-and-avoided-creates-a/) [Michel Leiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-leiris/) > [To you, the people of Flint, I say, as I have before, I am sorry and I will fix it. No citizen of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-snyder/to-you-the-people-of-flint-i-say-as-i-have-before-i-am-sorry-and-i/) [Rick Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-snyder/) > [Dark influences from the American past congregate among us still. If we are a democracy, what are we to make of the palpable elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/dark-influences-from-the-american-past-congregate-among-us-still-if/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [It's the hardest thing on earth to like yourself, and then when you do, it's a catastrophe. I mean, the people I know who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/it-s-the-hardest-thing-on-earth-to-like-yourself-and-then-when-you-do/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [We are upsetting the atmosphere upon which all life depends. In the late 80s when I began to take climate change seriously, we referred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/we-are-upsetting-the-atmosphere-upon-which-all-life-depends-in-the/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [“War is catastrophe. It breaks families in irretrievable pieces. But those who are gone are not necessarily lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/war-is-catastrophe-it-breaks-families-in-irretrievable-pieces-but/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [The biggest catastrophes that we've witnessed rarely come from information that is secret or hidden. It comes from information that is freely available and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/the-biggest-catastrophes-that-we-ve-witnessed-rarely-come-from/) [Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/) > [All the parties of capitalist society, all its moralists and all its sycophants will perish beneath the debris of the impending catastrophe. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/all-the-parties-of-capitalist-society-all-its-moralists-and-all-its/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [When the regime changed in Japan, the Japanese changed; Russians too can change, as long as the conditions for it are present once again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-voinovich/when-the-regime-changed-in-japan-the-japanese-changed-russians-too/) [Vladimir Voinovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-voinovich/) > [And in the racial climate of this country today, it is anybody's guess which of the 'extremes' in approach to the black man's problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/and-in-the-racial-climate-of-this-country-today-it-is-anybody-s-guess/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“But I guess it never is what you worry over that comes to pass in the end. The real catastrophes are always different -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/but-i-guess-it-never-is-what-you-worry-over-that-comes-to-pass-in-the/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [“How someone wants to explain catastrophe isn't important--that's what I know now. When shit happens, it doesn't really matter what asshole is responsible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/how-someone-wants-to-explain-catastrophe-isn-t-important-that-s-what/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [The Author of nature has not given laws to the universe, which, like the institutions of men, carry in themselves the elements of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-playfair/the-author-of-nature-has-not-given-laws-to-the-universe-which-like/) [John Playfair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-playfair/) [Browse all 656 Catastrophe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Catastrophes are often stimulated by the failure to feel the emergence of a domain, and so what cannot be felt in the imagination is experienced as embodied sensation in the catastrophe.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Irwin Thompson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/catastrophes-are-often-stimulated-by-the-failure-to-feel-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Catastrophe" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/catastrophes-are-often-stimulated-by-the-failure-to-feel-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/william-irwin-thompson-19769_catastrophe_catastrophes-are-often-stimulated-by-the_1306617.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/william-irwin-thompson-19769_catastrophe_catastrophes-are-often-stimulated-by-the_1306617.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/william-irwin-thompson-19769_catastrophe_catastrophes-are-often-stimulated-by-the_1306617.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Catastrophes are often stimulated by the failure to feel the emergence of a domain, and so what cannot be…” — William Irwin Thompson", "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": "William Irwin Thompson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Catastrophes are often stimulated by the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/catastrophes-are-often-stimulated-by-the-failure-to-feel-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/catastrophes-are-often-stimulated-by-the-failure-to-feel-the/#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 } } ] } ```