--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Actually, the ability to choose presence…" description: "\"Actually, the ability to choose presence depends on the degree of presence that's emerging in you. Ultimately, you are not choosing, there's nobody the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/eckhart-tolle-81_ability_actually-the-ability-to-choose-presence_2220614.jpg" --- # Actually, the ability to choose presence depends on the… ![“Actually, the ability to choose presence depends on the degree of presence that's emerging in you. Ultimately, you are not choosing, there's nobody there to choose. When you think you are choosing, presence is simply emerging in that moment.” quote by Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/eckhart-tolle-81_ability_actually-the-ability-to-choose-presence_2220614.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/eckhart-tolle-81_ability_actually-the-ability-to-choose-presence_2220614.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/eckhart-tolle-81_ability_actually-the-ability-to-choose-presence_2220614.jpg) > “Actually, the ability to choose presence depends on the degree of presence that's emerging in you. Ultimately, you are not choosing, there's nobody there to choose. When you think you are choosing, presence is simply emerging in that moment.” [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing presence is an illusion; what feels like a decision is simply awareness arising in the moment. **In simple terms:** Presence isn’t chosen, it appears. Key Takeaway Observe awareness without trying to control it. Themes mindfulness awareness illusion Mood calm reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - stressful moments - decision making - daily routines Key Concepts non-duality consciousness presence Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate between true choice and automatic awareness? - Can letting go of control reduce anxiety? A Different Perspective The sense of control can be useful for practical tasks, even if ultimately illusory. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Ability to choose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability-to-choose/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Use whatever challenge comes into your life as a kind of fuel for the flame of consciousness. That is done through surrender to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/use-whatever-challenge-comes-into-your-life-as-a-kind-of-fuel-for-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Sometimes when nobody needs you. That time make you realise that even your presence depends on others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek/sometimes-when-nobody-needs-you-that-time-make-you-realise-that-even/) [Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek/) > [Your inner purpose is an essential part of the purpose of the whole, the universe and its emerging intelligence. Your outer purpose can change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/your-inner-purpose-is-an-essential-part-of-the-purpose-of-the-whole/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Creating a high-functioning education system requires all the strategies involved in building high-functioning organisations anywhere. It requires a deliberate and aggressive strategy to ensure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kopp/creating-a-high-functioning-education-system-requires-all-the/) [Wendy Kopp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kopp/) > [Liberty is the essential precondition for achieving virtue... In order to exercise virtue, we need to have the ability to choose freely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/liberty-is-the-essential-precondition-for-achieving-virtue-in-order/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [You have the ability to choose what you want to experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/you-have-the-ability-to-choose-what-you-want-to-experience/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [Look at the word responsibility-"response-ability"-the ability to choose your response. Highly proactive people recognize that responsibility. 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Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [The idea of a talent that was bigger than an artist's ability to choose to use it, that would dictate the artist's life more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/the-idea-of-a-talent-that-was-bigger-than-an-artist-s-ability-to/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [I suspect that here theists and atheists would agree: Human beings have within them the ability to choose evil or good. We wake up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-hamilton/i-suspect-that-here-theists-and-atheists-would-agree-human-beings/) [Adam Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-hamilton/) > [My motto in life is 'aim true'. It came from my love of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. She inspired me to sport…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-budig/my-motto-in-life-is-aim-true-it-came-from-my-love-of-artemis-the/) [Kathryn Budig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-budig/) > [Response-ability is the ABILITY to choose our response to any circumstance or condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/response-ability-is-the-ability-to-choose-our-response-to-any/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [Freedom's possibility is not the ability to choose the good or the evil. The possibility is to be able.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/freedom-s-possibility-is-not-the-ability-to-choose-the-good-or-the/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Ultimately the way to win the game of life, is found in only one thing: Our ability to choose meaning in any life circumstance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/ultimately-the-way-to-win-the-game-of-life-is-found-in-only-one-thing/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) ## More by Eckhart Tolle > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/thinking-or-more-precisely-identification-with-thinking-gives-rise-to/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“A powerful spiritual practice is consciously to allow the diminishment of ego when it happens without attempting to restore it. I recommend that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/a-powerful-spiritual-practice-is-consciously-to-allow-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [To become aware of the subtlety of nature you need to be alert. The moment you become alert you become still... thinking subsides. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-become-aware-of-the-subtlety-of-nature-you-need-to-be-alert-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [When you are not honoring the present moment by allowing it to be, you are creating drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-are-not-honoring-the-present-moment-by-allowing-it-to-be-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [On a deeper level you are already complete. 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There was a time when occasionally somebody would come and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/it-is-very-hard-to-tell-when-i-started-to-be-a-spiritual-teacher/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Most people spend their entire life imprisoned within the confines of their own thoughts. They never go beyond a narrow, mind-made, personalized sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/most-people-spend-their-entire-life-imprisoned-within-the-confines-of/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Let the end of the world be inside you, then you don't need to fear the end of the world out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/let-the-end-of-the-world-be-inside-you-then-you-don-t-need-to-fear/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Jeste li zabrinuti? Razmišljate li često: »Što bi bilo da sam...?« To znači da ste se poistovjetili s umom, koji se projicira u neku…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/jeste-li-zabrinuti-razmi-ljate-li-esto-to-bi-bilo-da-sam-to-zna-i-da/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) [Explore all 1,493 Eckhart Tolle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. 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I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 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