I needed to live, but I also needed to record what I lived. Anais Nin More Quotes by Anais Nin More Quotes From Anais Nin Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Anais Nin different-experiences passion becoming I want to live darkly and richly in my femaleness. Anais Nin empowering-women sisterhood want There were always in me, two women at least, one woman desperate and bewildered, who felt she was drowning and another who would leap into a scene, as upon a stage, conceal her true emotions because they were weaknesses, helplessness, despair, and present to the world only a smile, an eagerness, curiosity, enthusiasm, interest. Anais Nin curiosity self two You are so terribly nimble, so clever. I distrust your cleverness. You make a wonderful pattern, everything is in its place, it looks convincingly clear, too clear. And meanwhile, where are you? Not on the clear surface of your ideas, but you have already sunk deeper, into darker regions, so that one only thinks one has been given all your thoughts, one only imagines you have emptied yourself in that clarity. But there are layers and layers - you're bottomless, unfathomable. Your clearness is deceptive. You are the thinker who arouses most confusion in me, most doubt, most disturbance. Anais Nin clever ideas thinking I will always be the virgin-prostitute, the perverse angel, the two-faced sinister and saintly woman. Anais Nin sinister angel two I only believe in fire. Life. Fire. Being myself on fire I set others on fire. Never death. Fire and life. Anais Nin being-myself fire believe Life is truly known only to those who suffer, lose, endure adversity and stumble from defeat to defeat. Anais Nin break-up inspirational life We do not escape into philosophy, psychology, and art--we go there to restore our shattered selves into whole ones. Anais Nin self philosophy art I want to love you wildly. I don’t want words, but inarticulate cries, meaningless, from the bottom of my most primitive being, that flow from my belly like honey. A piercing joy, that leaves me empty, conquered, silenced. Anais Nin piercings love-you joy No one was ever born without that light or flame of life. Some event, some person stifles or drowns it altogether. I was always tempted to resuscitate such men by my own joyousness or luminosity.When I break glasses in a night club, as the Russians do, when my unconscious breaks out in wild rebellions, it is against life which has crippled these idealistic, romantic men. I respect these men, cold, pure, faithful, devoted, moral, delicate, sensitive, and unequal to life, more than I respect the tough-minded ones who return three blows to one received, who kill those who hurt them. Anais Nin hurt blow night Age does not protect you from love. But love, to some extent, protects you from age. Anais Nin age love life In music I feel most deeply the passing of things. Anais Nin passing music feels All of my creation is an effort to weave a web of connection with the world: I am always weaving it because it was once broken. Anais Nin connections effort broken We also write to heighten our own awareness of life... We write to taste life twice, in the moment, and in retrospection... We write to be able to transcend our life, to reach beyond it...to teach ourselves to speak with others, to record the journey into the labyrinth. We write to expand our world when we feel strangled, or constricted, or lonely... When I don't write, I feel my world shrinking... I feel I lose my fire and my color. Anais Nin lonely journey writing The theme of the diary is always the personal, but it does not mean only a personal story: it means a personal relationship to all things and people. The personal, if it is deep enough, becomes universal, mythical, symbolic; I never generalize, intellectualise. I see, I hear, I feel. These are my primitive elements of discovery. Music, dance, poetry and painting are the channels for emotion. It is through them that experience penetrates our bloodstream. Anais Nin discovery mean people The fiery moments of passionate experience are the moments of wholeness and totality of the personality. Anais Nin passion moments personality A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning, as if supported by the rays of the sun, a bird settled on the fire escape, joy in the task of coffee, joy accompanied me as I walked. Anais Nin good-morning love peace The dream was always running ahead of me. To catch up, to live for a moment in unison with it, that was the miracle. Anais Nin dream running love Shame is the lie someone told you about yourself. Anais Nin about-yourself shame lying If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don't write, because our culture has no use for it. Anais Nin writing culture commitment
