George Berkeley Quotes

Life is consciousness.

Without consciousness there would, practically speaking, be no world, for the world exists as such only in so far as it is consciously reflected and considered by a psyche. Consciousness is a precondition of being.

The problem is we think we exist.

In my definition of consciousness, consciousness is the same thing as life. What wisdom traditions also call spirit.

The mind, whatever else it is, is a constant of everyone's experience, and, in more ways than we know, the creator of the reality that we live within... Nothing is more essential to us.

Our nature is the mind. And the mind is our nature.

I am Walter, a body, but more important than the body is my spirit.

I--this thought which is called I--is the mould into which the world is poured like melted wax.

You are not a human being. You are not your body, you are not your mind, and you are not your soul. These are things that You have. The You that has these things - indeed, that has given your Self these things - is far bigger than any of them, and even all of them put together.

Consciousness ... is the phenomenon whereby the universe's very existence is made known.

I desire therefore I exist.

The leading edge of reality is mind, and mind is the primary substratum of being.

Consciousness in the individual is that area where the totality of life is located.

That in the soul which is called the mind is, before it thinks, not actually any real thing.

All thought of something is at the same time self-consciousness [...] At the root of all our experiences and all our reflections, we find [...] a being which immediately recognises itself, [...] and which knows its own existence, not by observation and as a given fact, nor by inference from any idea of itself, but through direct contact with that existence. Self-consciousness is the very being of mind in action.

Life in the true sense is perceiving or thinking.

It seems to me that the real problem is the mind itself and not the problem which the mind has created and tries to solve.

There is the mind itself. It is like a smooth lake which when struck, say by a stone, vibrates. The vibrations gather together and react on the stone, and all through the lake they will spread and be felt. The mind is like the lake; it is constantly being set in vibrations, which leave an impression on the mind; and the idea of the Ego, or personal self, the "I", is the result of these impressions. This "I" therefore is only the very rapid transmission of force and is in itself no reality.

The physical body is conceived and constructed in consciousness as are time and space. All happens within our self.

We can conceive a thinking being to have either many or few perceptions. Suppose the mind to be reduced even below the life of anoyster. Suppose it to have only one perception, as of thirst or hunger. Consider it in that situation. Do you conceive any thing but merely that perception? Have you any notion of self or substance? If not, the addition of other perceptions can never give you that notion.

The simple fact of existence, of being aware that you are aware; this to me is the most astounding fact.

The only way to give finality to the world is to give it consciousness.

The very act of questioning whether you exist proves you do, because you must be there for the doubt to be entertained in the first place.

Life is only a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves.