Eckhart Tolle Quotes

The more shared past there is in a relationship, the more present you need to be; otherwise, you will be forced to relive the past again and again.

Accepting means you allow yourself to feel whatever it is you are feeling at that moment...you can't argue with what is. Well, you can, but if you do, you suffer.

The inspiration for the title of this book came from a Bible prophecy that seems more applicable now than at any other time in human history. It occurs in both the Old and the New Testament and speaks of the collapse of the existing world order and the arising of “a new heaven and a new earth." We need to understand here that heaven is not a location but refers to the inner realm of consciousness. This is the esoteric meaning of the word, and this is also its meaning in the teachings of Jesus.

The ego doesn’t like to hear this, because if it cannot be reactive and righteous anymore, it will lose strength. (Ch 8)

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

Presence is a state of inner spaciousness.

Do you really need to mentally label every sense perception and experience? Do you really need to have a reactive like/dislike relationship with life where you are in almost continuous conflict with situations and people? Or is that just a deep seated mental habit that can be broken? Not by doing anything, but by allowing this moment to be as it is. (Ch 7)

In most cases, we cannot begin to understand what role a seemingly senseless event may have within the totality of the cosmos but recognizing its inevitability within the vastness of the whole can be the beginning of an inner acceptance of what is and thus a realignment with the wholeness of life. (Ch 10)

Listen to people's stories and they all could be entitled "Why I Cannot Be At Peace Now" The ego doesn't know that your only opportunity for being at peace is now.

Whatever you accept completely will take you to peace, including the acceptance that you cannot accept, that you are in resistance. (Ch 6)

The ego … reduces the present to a means to an end.

Right now we are being given the experience we need to raise our consciousness.

Wherever you look, you will find death as well as life. Upon closer scrutiny, however, you will discover that the decomposing tree trunk and rotting leaves not only give birth to new life, but are full of life themselves. (Ch 9)

The past gives you an identity and the future holds the promise of salvation. … Both are illusions.

When you accept everything for what it is without labels you are outside of your ego.