Computers Quote by Eckhart Tolle
““The mind is essentially a survival machine. Attack and defense against other minds, gathering, storing, and analyzing information — this is what it is good at, but it is not at all creative. All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness. The mind then gives form to the creative impulse or insight. Even the great scientists have reported that their creative breakthroughs came at a time of mental quietude. The surprising result of a nationwide inquiry among America’s most eminent mathematicians, including Einstein, to find out their working methods, was that thinking “plays only a subordinate part in the brief, decisive phase of the creative act itself.”1 So I would say that the simple reason why the majority of scientists are not creative is not because they don’t know how to think but””
About This Quote
Source Interview: The Nature of Creativity, 2015
The mind excels at survival tasks, not creation; true creativity arises from a quiet, mind‑less state.
In simple terms: Creativity comes from inner stillness, not active thinking.
Cultivate mental quiet to unlock creativity.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- scientific research
- artistic practice
- personal development
- problem solving
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What practices help you quiet the mind?
- Can you create without thinking?
Quietness can be hard to achieve in busy lives.