Bring awareness to the many subtle sounds of nature - The rustling of leaves in the wind, Raindrops falling, The humming of an insect, The first birdsong at dawn.
Eckhart TolleRead
Attention is the vital thing and there is no tension in attention. It just happens to be a similar word. It's not concentration or straining. Attention has the openness of a young child not yet dominated by the conceptual mind.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Attention is a natural and open state, unlike forced concentration or tension.
In this quote, Eckhart Tolle emphasizes the importance of genuine attention, which is characterized by openness and presence. He contrasts this with the common misconception that attention requires effort or strain. Instead, true attention flows naturally, much like the curiosity and unfiltered perception of a young child, free from the constraints of adult conceptual thinking.
Themes
AttentionMindfulnessOpennessConcentrationChildlike
In practice
Example use cases
During a mindfulness workshop, this quote could be shared to illustrate the difference between tension and genuine attention.
More from Eckhart Tolle
All quotes →Body awareness not only anchors you in the present moment, it is a doorway out of the prison that is the ego. It also strengthens the immune system and the body’s ability to heal itself.
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Whenever you become anxious or stressed, outer purpose has taken over, and you lost sight of your inner purpose. You have forgotten that your state of consciousness is primary, all else secondary.
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Nothing that was real ever died, only names, forms, and illusions.
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Suffering has a noble purpose: the evolution of consciousness and the burning up of the ego.
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Sometimes surrender means giving up trying to understand and becoming comfortable with not knowing.
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