30 Pearls of Wisdom from

Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle is a world-renown spiritual teacher and the author of the

books The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment and A
New Earth: Awakening to Your Lifes Purpose , both of which have sold
in the millions.

His work, which has been influenced by a wide range of spiritual

teachings, is centered on the recognition that the now is all that there is.
Here are 30 pearls of wisdom from Eckhart Tolle:
1. Instead of reacting to the content that arises in your lifethoughts,
external events, other people, the scenery, and so on, allow the content
to be. That is, instead of identifying with what arises in the now, become
aware of the now itself, beyond the phenomena that arise in it. To become
aware of the now itself means that you become aware of the stillness that
underlies everything.
2. Becoming aware of the now also means realizing that you are the now,
or noticing the observer that witnesses lifes events with detachment,
and without being possessed by them.
3. The underlying stillness is underneath and between all of your
thoughts. In fact, it surrounds all of the content in your life.
4. Meditating in the morning will help you to begin the day in the
undercurrent of stillness.
5. Most people are not aware of the field; theyre only aware of what
happens in the field. In fact, its not just that theyre only aware of what
happens in the field, but they identify with what happens in the field in
their search for self.
6. Fear of loss is when you identify with part of the contentwith

something in the external world, and you think that if you lose it, youll
lose part of who you are. For example, when you tell yourself that without
this or that, Im no one.
7. Youll live in a state of continuous joy, no matter what arises, when you
realize that what arises isnt that important. What arises is just
consciousness playing with form.
8. Become a participant in the play of form by creating without selfseeking; when you create without self-seeking, youll create beautifully.
However, when you create and theres self-seeking in itwhen you tell
yourself I need, I want, or I must have, then you infuse the
creative energy that is flowing through you with negativity.
9. The power of consciousness flows through you, and it loves to create;
simply let it flow.
10. Think of the last time you were in a traffic jam; you felt stressed
because you needed to be at X place, but you werent moving. However,
the same spaciousness that is easy to become aware of when youre
contemplating nature, for example, surrounds even this event which we
call a traffic jam. Shift your awareness from traffic jam to
spaciousness.
11. You find the spaciousness surrounding any event simply by allowing
that moment to be. Say yes to anything that happens, instead of

fighting or resisting what is. Whats the point of saying no, if it is?
Simply tell yourself, It is what it is. When you do this you become aware
of a dimension that is deeper than the event thats taking place.
12. If you get angry about something thats happening around you, do the
same thing; simply say, Heres the energy of anger; it is what it is. Of
course, its much easier to notice the stillness that surrounds something
such as a flower, than it is to notice the stillness that surrounds anger.
However, the stillness surrounds everything, even strong emotions such
as anger.
13. True surrender does not mean to passively put up with whatever
situation you find yourself in, and to do nothing about it. It doesnt mean
to stop making plans or initiating positive action. Surrender is about
yielding to, rather than opposing, the flow of life.
The only place in which you can experience the flow of life is in the now.
So, to surrender means to accept the present moment, unconditionally,
and without reservation. Its relinquishing any resistance to what is.
14. Thinking that you are the physical form that youre occupying, with its
psychological make-up, and the stories that it tells itself about who it is
and what has happened to it during its lifetime, is an illusion.
15. Know yourself as something that is beyond form. To lose yourself in
some form is suffering.

16. Every time that you react to a form that arises in the stillness or the
spaciousness that exists around everything that there is, you identify
more and more with the world of form.
17. An exercise that Eckhart Tolle recommends in order to become more
aware of the present moment is to stop a few times throughout the day
and look around the room youre in as if you had just been born into that
room, even if its just for a few seconds. Simply allow your entire self to
be present and alert in the room, and enter the moment more fully. Dont
think about what youre looking at; just look at it.
18. Most of your suffering is self-created. Almost all suffering arises out
of your interpretation of something that is; that is, it comes from your
thoughts about the situation, not from the situation itself.
19. There comes a point in which a person says, Ive suffered enough,
and at that point theyre ready to listen to the message that theres
another way to live. Theres another way to live that does not create
further suffering. This way of living is when you stop mentally arguing
with what is, and when you stop identifying with the world of form and
with the mind-created self.
20. When you stop inflicting suffering on yourself, youll stop inflicting
suffering on others.
21. Youll never be able to arrange the world of form exactly as you want

it, and youll never be able to accumulate all of the forms that you think
that you need in order to be yourself, if you identify your sense of self with
the world of form. Its in the nature of the world of form that nothing
stays fixed for very long.
22. The world of form will never make you feel complete and happy. Stop
demanding that people, places, and situations make you happy and fulfill
you. You need to go deeper, instead of staying at the surface.
23. When you see the inability of the world to make you happy, and when
you notice the short-lived nature of whatever forms you encounter, youll
begin to step out a state of unconsciousness and start to become more
enlightened.
24. Accept what is. If someone cuts you off in traffic, its like a sudden
gust of wind. You dont personalize a gust of wind, so dont personalize
the fact that another car just cut in front of you. Its simply what is.
25. The ego is habitual and compulsive thought processes that go through
your mind continuously. Its about being trapped in thought and in
mental noise.
26. Even your mental chatter is surrounded by stillness; simply tell
yourself, Im full of mental noise, and thats OK. This will allow you to
move beyond it.
27. The pain-gap is the gap that exists between your rigid expectations of

how things should be, and the way things are. Acceptance of what is
releases you from the discomfort of the pain-gap.
28. Whatever you think that the world is withholding from you, you are
withholding from the world. Give to the world, and to others, whatever
you think is being withheld from you. This applies to all of the following:
Love;
Recognition;
Assistance;
Appreciation, and so on.
If you dont think that you can give it because you dont have it, just
pretend. Soon after you start giving, you will start receiving.
29. If you dont have a good relationship with the now, then you cant
have a good relationship with life, because life takes place in the now.
30. Worry is repetitive, negative thought patterns. There are three
methods you can use in order to step out of the stream of negative
thinking:
First, move into the present moment by taking a few deep breaths.
Second, you can step out of the stream of negative thinking by placing
your attention on the feeling of aliveness in your body: in your hands,
your arms, your legs, and so on.
A third method you can use is to place all of your attention on an

object in your environment.

Source: 30 Pearls of Wisdom from Eckhart Tolle,
from daringtolivefully.com