Quotes by Eckhart Tolle

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All true artists - whether they are aware of it or not - create from mindlessness, from inner silence. After that, the mind just gives shape to the creative inspiration or recognition. Even great scientists report that their moments of creative breakthrough fell during periods of mental calm.

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And if you really can't do anything to change the here and now, and you can't even get out of the situation, then let go of all your inner resistance and accept the situation completely! (...) This is called surrender. Surrender is not weakness! It has great power!

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Often any action is better than no action, especially if you've been stuck in an unhappy situation for a long time.

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Teamwork is invaluable, but it's not enough, and you shouldn't let yourself become dependent on it! In the same way, avoid hanging on your teacher or master.

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Wherever you are, be there completely!

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Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it yourself! Always work with him, not against him! Make him your friend and ally, not your enemy! It will transform your whole life wonderfully.

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If there is no joy, peace and ease in what you do, it does not necessarily mean that you should do something else. It is enough to do it differently. "How" is always more important than what. See if you can pay much more attention to the activity than to the result.

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Just like the road sign, the word goes beyond itself. (...) If you have a strong aversion to the word "God" - which is a negative form of attachment - then you may reject not only the word, but also the reality to which the word refers. But by doing so, you can cut yourself off from the possibility of experiencing this reality.

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If you keep your attention maximally in your body, you are anchored in the now. You don't lose yourself in the outside world or in your mind. (...) It is almost as if you are listening or reading with your whole body.

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You will find God as soon as you realize that you don't have to look for him.

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Stop criticizing yourself and your partner! The greatest way to promote change in your relationship is to accept your partner completely as they are, without trying to criticize or change them.

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When you accept what is, every moment is the best. This is enlightenment.

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There will never be a more perfect moment than now.

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Complaining is always the non-acceptance of what currently exists. (...) When you complain, you make yourself a victim. (...) Change the situation with action, or, if necessary, speak your mind and get out of the situation, or accept it! Everything else is madness.

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Humanity is a dangerously insane and seriously ill species! This is not a criticism. That's a fact.

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When all the cells of your body are so present that you feel them vibrating with life, and when you experience the joy of Being in every moment of life, then you can say that you have freed yourself from time.

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If the thought and the feeling obviously contradict each other, then the thought is a lie and the feeling is the truth.

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You must first become fully aware of your emotions and able to feel them before you can feel what lies beyond them.

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Pleasure always comes from something outside of you, while joy comes from within.

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Don't strive to get rid of desire or to "achieve" enlightenment! Be present! Be where you are, but as a guardian of the mind!

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Always say yes to the present moment! After all, what could be more futile and foolish than to show internal resistance to what already exists? What could be more foolish than to confront life itself, which is now and always only now? Surrender to what is! Say yes to life, and you'll see that it suddenly starts working for you and not against you!

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The secret of life is to "die before death" and realize that there is no such thing as death.

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Nothing ever happened in the past: everything happened in the now. Nothing will ever happen in the future: everything will happen in the now.

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As soon as you notice that you are not present, you are already present. Whenever you are able to observe your mind, you have already stepped out of its trap.

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The focus of an enlightened person's attention is always on the now, but he is also peripherally aware of time.

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Restlessness, anxiety, tension and worry - all different forms of fear - are caused by too much future and not enough present. Guilt, regret, resentment, hurt, sadness, bitterness, and all forms of unforgiveness are caused by too much of the past and not enough of the present.

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If you act from the awareness of the present moment, whatever you do - even the simplest things - your action will be imbued with a feeling of quality, care and love.

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As soon as the compulsive escape from the now ceases, the joy of Being flows into all your actions. The moment your attention is directed to the clock, you are filled with a sense of presence, calm and peace.

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Humanity is under enormous pressure to evolve because it is the only chance for our species to survive. This will affect all aspects of your life, especially your intimate relationships. Never before have relationships been so problematic and fraught with conflict as they are today. As you may have already realized, their function is not to make you happy or satisfied. If you continue to look for salvation in an intimate relationship, you will be disappointed again and again. However, if you accept that the relationship is not meant to make you happy, but to make you aware, then it really offers you the possibility of redemption, and you come into harmony with the higher consciousness that wants to be born into this world! For those who cling to the old patterns, more and more pain, violence, confusion and madness await.

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Ultimately, you don't take responsibility for life until you take responsibility for this moment - the now. Because the now is the only place where life can be found.

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Death is not the opposite of life. Life has no opposite. The opposite of death is birth. Life is eternal.

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Open your eyes and notice the pervasive fear, despair, greed and violence! See the unimaginable scale of abominable cruelty and suffering that humans inflict on each other and on other living beings on the planet! You don't have to judge, just observe.

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It is not uncommon for a person to spend their whole life waiting to start living.

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Where there is anger, there is always pain behind it.

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Power over others is actually weakness disguised as strength.

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Suffering is necessary until you realize it is unnecessary.

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When you create a problem, you create pain! All you need is a simple choice, a simple decision: no matter what happens, I will not create pain for myself. This is a small decision, but a radical one! You don't commit to it until you're up to your heart's content with the suffering, until you've really had enough of it. And you won't be able to carry through with your resolution until you have access to the power of now. If you don't create more pain for yourself, you won't for anyone else either.

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If a situation arises that you need to deal with immediately, your action will be clear, decisive and likely to be effective if it comes from present moment awareness. Because what you did in this case will not be a reaction arising from the past conditioning of your mind, but an intuitive response to the situation.

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The possibility of choice begins with the moment when a person can distinguish between his mind and the conditioned patterns in it, because it is from this moment that he begins to live in the present. Up to this point he lives in unconsciousness.

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Everyone is a beggar who has not yet found his true wealth - the radiant happiness of Being and the deep, unshakable peace that comes with it.

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Instead of asking "what do I want from life?", a more pressing question is "what does life want from me?".

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When there is no way out, there is always a way through.

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Don't think about (...) the fruits of your actions! Just pay attention to the activity itself! The fruit ripens by itself.

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"Inhabiting the body" means that you feel your body from the inside, you feel the life in it, and in this way you realize that you are above the external form. But all of this is only the beginning of your inner journey, which will take you deeper and deeper into the realm of great tranquility, silence and peace, which is also the space of the hourly power and vibrant life.

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Imagine the Earth devoid of human life - populated only by plants and animals! Do you think there would still be a past and a future? Would it still make sense to talk about time? "What time is it?" or "What time is it today?" - if there was anyone there to ask - it would sound completely meaningless. The oak tree or the eagle would only be confused by such a question. "Well, of course it is now. The time: now. What else could it be?"

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In order to maintain its dominance, the mind constantly strives to cover the present moment with the past and the future. Thus, time obscures the vitality and infinite creativity of the Being inseparable from the Now, so your true nature is obscured by the mind.

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You don't have to own anything to feel abundant, but if you feel that way all the time, it's almost certain that things are coming into your life. Abundance only flows to those who already have it. This almost sounds like injustice, but of course it is not, but: a universal law. Abundance and scarcity are both internal states, which then appear as your reality.

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The past perpetuates itself through the absence of the present.

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You will not find peace of mind by rearranging your life circumstances, but by realizing who you really are, at the deepest level.

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Desire: the need to add something to yourself in order to be more fully yourself.

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All fear: the fear of losing something that diminishes you, that makes you less.

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A dog's playfulness, unconditional love and willingness to celebrate life at any moment are often in stark contrast to the inner state of its owner: depressed, anxious, burdened with problems, lost in thoughts, and no longer present in the place and time that exists alone, that is, the here and now. One wonders: with such a figure, how can this dog remain so mentally healthy and so joyful?

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The outer form is only a temporary reflection of who you are inside, which is your essence. That is why love and beauty can never leave you, while external forms all leave you with time.

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People have a bad feeling about every ending, because every ending is a little death. That's why we say "see you again" when saying goodbye.

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Resistance hardens your soul, hardens the shell of your self, and thus separates you from everything. With permission, all your relationships fundamentally change, as you will accept everyone as they are.

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Defining yourself by thought: limiting yourself.

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Your unhappiness contaminates not only your inner being and environment, but also the collective psyche of humanity, of which you are an inseparable part. There is no other form of life on our planet than humans, which would poison the Earth that nourishes it with its negativity and cruelty.

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Have you ever experienced, done, thought, or felt anything outside of now? Do you think you ever will? Can anything happen or exist at a time other than now? The answer is obvious, right?

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You cannot be free in the future. The key to freedom is presence, so you can only be free now.