"Life is a process. We are a process. The universe is a process"
About this Quote
The intent is quietly corrective. Schaef’s work often circles addiction, codependency, and the compulsions that come from trying to control what can’t be controlled. In that context, “process” is both permission and discipline: permission to be unfinished, discipline to stay engaged. It undercuts the binary thinking that dominates both shame (“I’m broken”) and perfectionism (“I should be fixed by now”).
The subtext is almost anti-consumerist in its spirituality. A “process” can’t be purchased, mastered once, or displayed as status. It’s also a rebuke to static identities. If “we are a process,” then the stories we tell about who we are - the labels, the roles, the worst thing we’ve done - are snapshots, not destiny.
Making the universe a process completes the move: it relocates personal change from the realm of exceptional self-improvement into the basic operating system of reality. That’s why it works. It turns surrender into something sturdier than resignation: alignment with how things already are.
Quote Details
| Topic | Meaning of Life |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Schaef, Anne Wilson. (2026, January 17). Life is a process. We are a process. The universe is a process. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/life-is-a-process-we-are-a-process-the-universe-36892/
Chicago Style
Schaef, Anne Wilson. "Life is a process. We are a process. The universe is a process." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/life-is-a-process-we-are-a-process-the-universe-36892/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Life is a process. We are a process. The universe is a process." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/life-is-a-process-we-are-a-process-the-universe-36892/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.






