All art really does is keep you focused on questions of humanity, and it really is about how do we get on with our maker.
David BowieRead
Heathenism is a state of mind. You can take it that I'm referring to one who does not see his world. He has no mental light. He destroys almost unwittingly. He cannot feel any Gods presence in his life. He is the 21st century man.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the lack of awareness and spiritual connection that can characterize modern life.
David Bowie's quote explores the concept of 'heathenism' as a metaphor for a state of mind wherein individuals are disconnected from both their surroundings and any spiritual or divine presence. He suggests that this disconnection leads to a life devoid of meaning and awareness, highlighting a troubling aspect of 21st-century existence where many fail to recognize the deeper elements of their reality.
Themes
AwarenessSpiritualityModernityDisconnectionMindset
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech on modern existential challenges, one might say, 'As David Bowie put it, 'Heathenism is a state of mind', reflecting our struggle to find meaning today.'
More from David Bowie
All quotes →I guess, taking away all the theatrics or the costuming and the outer layers of what I do, I'm a writer... I write.
David BowieRead
I always had a repulsive need to be something more than human.
David BowieRead
Nothing prepared me for your smile
David BowieRead
But I've got to think of myself as the luckiest guy. Robert Johnson only had one album's worth of work as his legacy. That's all that life allowed him.
David BowieRead
I'm an early riser. I get up between five and six, have coffee, and read for a couple of hours before everyone else gets up.
David BowieRead
Similar quotes
If we do not believe within ourselves this deeply rooted feeling that there is something higher than ourselves, we shall never find the strength to evolve into something higher.
Rudolf SteinerRead
If cows and horses had hands and could draw, cows would draw gods that look like cows and horses would draw gods that look like horses.
XenophanesRead
But as for Aslan himself, the Beavers and the children didn't know what to do or say when they saw him. People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it now. For when they tried to look at Aslan's face they just caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they found they couldn't look at him and went all trembly.
C. S. LewisRead
Liberty is not collective, it is personal. All liberty is individual liberty.
Calvin CoolidgeRead
However, if the religions in essence merely repeat statements from the United Nations Human Rights Declaration, such a Declaration becomes superfluous; an ethic is more than rights.
Hans KungRead
Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.
William O. DouglasRead