--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The stream of thought flows on; but most…" description: "\"The stream of thought flows on; but most of its segments fall into the bottomless abyss of oblivion. Of some, no memory survives the instant of their p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/william-james-228_abyss_the-stream-of-thought-flows-on-but-most_1951857.png" --- # The stream of thought flows on; but most of its segments… ![“The stream of thought flows on; but most of its segments fall into the bottomless abyss of oblivion. Of some, no memory survives the instant of their passage. Of others, it is confined to a few moments, hours or days. Others, again, leave vestiges which are indestructible, and by means of which…” quote by William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/william-james-228_abyss_the-stream-of-thought-flows-on-but-most_1951857.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/william-james-228_abyss_the-stream-of-thought-flows-on-but-most_1951857.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47d/william-james-228_abyss_the-stream-of-thought-flows-on-but-most_1951857.png) > “The stream of thought flows on; but most of its segments fall into the bottomless abyss of oblivion. Of some, no memory survives the instant of their passage. Of others, it is confined to a few moments, hours or days. Others, again, leave vestiges which are indestructible, and by means of which they may be recalled as long as life endures.” [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Thoughts are fleeting; most are forgotten, some linger briefly, and a few endure forever as lasting memories. **In simple terms:** Thoughts fade quickly, but some stay forever. Key Takeaway Cherish and record meaningful moments. Themes memory impermanence reflection Mood nostalgic contemplative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing journals - therapy sessions - creative projects - teaching - public speaking Key Concepts psychology philosophy cognitive science Questions to Reflect On - Which thoughts have shaped your life? - How can you preserve valuable ideas? A Different Perspective Even lasting memories can be distorted over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abyss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) [Flow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flow/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [No memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-memory/) [Oblivion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oblivion/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) ## Related quotes > [“Judaism is not, and never has been, a single stream of thought, but a river formed of many, often contradictory, streams, and rabbinic texts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-schwartz/judaism-is-not-and-never-has-been-a-single-stream-of-thought-but-a/) Howard Schwartz > [Without oblivion, there is no remembrance possible. When both oblivion and memory are wise, when the general soul of man is clear, melodious, true,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/without-oblivion-there-is-no-remembrance-possible-when-both-oblivion/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Speech is as a pump, by which we raise and pour out the water from the great lake of Thought,--whither it flows back again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sterling/speech-is-as-a-pump-by-which-we-raise-and-pour-out-the-water-from-the/) [John Sterling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sterling/) > [I’m dazzled by your facility. In ten days you’ll have written six stories! I don’t understand it… I’m like one of those old aqueducts:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-m-dazzled-by-your-facility-in-ten-days-you-ll-have-written-six/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [As the mind shrinks at the will of the initiate, thought flows in to fill the spaces so created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gardner/as-the-mind-shrinks-at-the-will-of-the-initiate-thought-flows-in-to/) [Ian Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gardner/) > [“Stranger: 'Are not thought and speech the same, with this exception, that what is called thought is the unuttered conversation of the soul with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/stranger-are-not-thought-and-speech-the-same-with-this-exception-that/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Fatalism, whose solving word in all crises of behavior is All striving is vain, will never reign supreme, for the impulse to take life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/fatalism-whose-solving-word-in-all-crises-of-behavior-is-all-striving/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The impulse to take life strivingly is indestructible in the race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-impulse-to-take-life-strivingly-is-indestructible-in-the-race/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [And so she comes to dream herself the tree, The wind possessing her, weaving her young veins, Holding her to the sky and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hart-crane/and-so-she-comes-to-dream-herself-the-tree-the-wind-possessing-her/) [Hart Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hart-crane/) > [“Natural selection is a blind and undirected consequence of the interaction between variation and the environment. Natural selection exists only in the continuous present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-gee/natural-selection-is-a-blind-and-undirected-consequence-of-the/) Henry Gee > [O thou that dost inhabit in my breast, leave not the mansion so long tenantless; lest, growing ruinous, the building fall and leave no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/o-thou-that-dost-inhabit-in-my-breast-leave-not-the-mansion-so-long/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If we could wake each morning with no memory of living before we went to sleep, we might arrive at a faultless day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/if-we-could-wake-each-morning-with-no-memory-of-living-before-we-went/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) > [Goldfish have no memory, I guess their lives are much like mine. And the little plastic castle is a surprise everytime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ani-difranco/goldfish-have-no-memory-i-guess-their-lives-are-much-like-mine-and/) [Ani DiFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ani-difranco/) > [To his sister-in-law: What a contrast between us! You live a warm and glowing life, surrounded by loved ones whom you care for and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nobel/to-his-sister-in-law-what-a-contrast-between-us-you-live-a-warm-and/) [Alfred Nobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nobel/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More by William James > [Effort is the one strictly undervalued and original contribution we make to this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/effort-is-the-one-strictly-undervalued-and-original-contribution-we/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [In the dim background of our mind we know meanwhile what we ought to be doing: getting up, dressing ourselves, answering the person who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/in-the-dim-background-of-our-mind-we-know-meanwhile-what-we-ought-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Our minds thus grow in spots; and like grease-spots, the spots spread. But we let them spread as little as possible: we keep unaltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/our-minds-thus-grow-in-spots-and-like-grease-spots-the-spots-spread/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Circumstance does not make me, it reveals me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/circumstance-does-not-make-me-it-reveals-me/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > ['Facts' are the bounds of human knowledge, set for it, not by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/facts-are-the-bounds-of-human-knowledge-set-for-it-not-by-it/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Woe to him whose beliefs play fast and loose with the order which realities follow in his experience; they will lead him nowhere or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/woe-to-him-whose-beliefs-play-fast-and-loose-with-the-order-which/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [We never fully grasp the import of any true statement until we have a clear notion of what the opposite untrue statement would be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-never-fully-grasp-the-import-of-any-true-statement-until-we-have-a/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is your friends who make your world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-your-friends-who-make-your-world/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/human-beings-can-alter-their-lives-by-altering-their-attitudes-of-mind/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [Most people, probably, are in doubt about certain matters ascribed to their past. They may have seen them, may have said them, done them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/most-people-probably-are-in-doubt-about-certain-matters-ascribed-to/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“How soon, indeed, are human things forgotten! As we meet here this morning, the Southern sun is shining on their place of burial, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/how-soon-indeed-are-human-things-forgotten-as-we-meet-here-this/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [It is wrong always, everywhere, and for everyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/it-is-wrong-always-everywhere-and-for-everyone-to-believe-anything/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) [Explore all 854 William James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More Abyss quotes > [We never think that our mothers will die. It was like suddenly an abyss opened at my feet - I was standing on nothing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/we-never-think-that-our-mothers-will-die-it-was-like-suddenly-an/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“The whole organization seemed to be in free fall, indulging in a collective fantasy in which experienced colleagues refused to admit that their every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-whole-organization-seemed-to-be-in-free-fall-indulging-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Adam became so proud that he wished to become God and died for his pride; the Son of God humbled Himself unto death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-kronstadt/adam-became-so-proud-that-he-wished-to-become-god-and-died-for-his/) [John of Kronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-kronstadt/) > [The cradle rocks above an abyss, and common sense tells us that our existence is but a brief crack of light between two eternities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/the-cradle-rocks-above-an-abyss-and-common-sense-tells-us-that-our/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [In the end things must be as they are and have always been--the great things remain for the great, the abysses for the profound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-the-end-things-must-be-as-they-are-and-have-always-been-the-great/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I admire the Elsie Tanners and Barbara Windsors of the world: people who have crawled back from the abyss. I'm quite camp in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-eclair/i-admire-the-elsie-tanners-and-barbara-windsors-of-the-world-people/) [Jenny Eclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-eclair/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) > [I look into my heart and see the abyss looking back at me.' 'I won't let you fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nalini-singh/i-look-into-my-heart-and-see-the-abyss-looking-back-at-me-i-won-t-let/) [Nalini Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nalini-singh/) > [There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/there-is-no-drop-of-water-in-the-ocean-not-even-in-the-deepest-parts/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“But first whom shall we send In search of this new world, whom shall we find Sufficient? Who shall tempt, with wand'ring feet The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/but-first-whom-shall-we-send-in-search-of-this-new-world-whom-shall/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [Many women don’t know what orgasm is. Many men don’t know was total orgasm is. Many only achieve a local orgasm, a genital orgasm;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-women-don-t-know-what-orgasm-is-many-men-don-t-know-was-total/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fear not. For fear itself is fed by fear, and all fears pass. Did no one tell you so? Come take my hand, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/fear-not-for-fear-itself-is-fed-by-fear-and-all-fears-pass-did-no-one/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [God gave the sea the danger and the abyss, but it was in it that He mirrored the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/god-gave-the-sea-the-danger-and-the-abyss-but-it-was-in-it-that-he/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [We belong to an age where apocalypse is our daily bread, coffee's black, and we know we're part of the abyss. Red Spider White…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-aldiss/we-belong-to-an-age-where-apocalypse-is-our-daily-bread-coffee-s/) [Brian Aldiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-aldiss/) [Browse all 625 Abyss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abyss/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The stream of thought flows on; but most of its segments fall into the bottomless abyss of oblivion. Of some, no memory survives the instant of their passage. Of others, it is confined to a few moments, hours or days. 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