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

— Oprah Winfrey

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Oprah Winfrey 143

American businesswoman, talk show host, actress, producer, … 1954

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“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.

“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.

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

Wayne W. Dyer (1940–2015) American writer

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

Robin S. Sharma (1965) Canadian self help writer

“We are beginning to realize that even the most fortunate people are living far below capacity, and that most human beings develop not more than a small fraction of their potential mental and spiritual efficiency.”

Julian Huxley (1887–1975) English biologist, philosopher, author

Transhumanism (1957)
Context: We are beginning to realize that even the most fortunate people are living far below capacity, and that most human beings develop not more than a small fraction of their potential mental and spiritual efficiency. The human race, in fact, is surrounded by a large area of unrealized possibilities, a challenge to the spirit of exploration.