“We are not human beings in search of a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings emersed in a human experience.”

Last update July 24, 2025. History

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Wayne W. Dyer 92
American writer 1940–2015

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Pierre Teilhard De Chardin photo

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin (1881–1955) French philosopher and Jesuit priest

This is attributed to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in The Joy of Kindness (1993), by Robert J. Furey, p. 138; but it is attributed to G. I. Gurdjieff in Beyond Prophecies and Predictions: Everyone's Guide To The Coming Changes (1993) by Moira Timms, p. 62; neither cite a source. It was widely popularized by Wayne Dyer, who often quotes it in his presentations, crediting it to Chardin, as does Stephen Covey in Living the 7 Habits : Stories of Courage and Inspiration (2000), p. 47. Such statements could be considered paraphrases of Hegel's dictum that matter is spirit fallen into a state of self-otherness. Or any number of thousands of similarly vague quotes by hundreds of predecessors.
Disputed
Variant: We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.
Variant: We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

Robin S. Sharma photo
Stephen R. Covey photo

“We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.”

Stephen R. Covey (1932–2012) American educator, author, businessman and motivational speaker

Pierre Teilhard De Chardin, in The Phenomenon of Man [Le Phénomène Humain] (1955); Covey quotes this in Living the 7 Habits : Stories of Courage and Inspiration (2000), p. 47
Variant: We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.
A paraphrase of De Chardin's statement which has also become misattributed to Covey.
Misattributed
Variant: We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

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“We are not Human Beings experiencing spiritual lives, we are spiritual beings experiencing human lives.”

Oprah Winfrey (1954) American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist
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“Science depends on outer experiment. Spirituality depends on inner searching and seeking.”

Sri Chinmoy (1931–2007) Indian writer and guru

Songs of the Soul (1971)
Context: Science depends on outer experiment. Spirituality depends on inner searching and seeking. A scientist discovers the power that very often threatens even his own life. A spiritual seeker discovers the power that guides and moulds his life into a life of divine fulfilment.

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“We must never forget that spiritual experience is above all a practical experience of love. And with love, there are no rules.”

Paulo Coelho (1947) Brazilian lyricist and novelist

As translated by Alan R. Clarke (1996).
By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept (1994)

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