--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Instead of being lost in your thinking…" description: "\"Instead of being lost in your thinking, when you awaken you recognize yourself as the awareness behind it. Thinking then ceases to be a self-serving au..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/eckhart-tolle-81_activity_instead-of-being-lost-in-your-thinking-w_1929936.jpg" --- # Instead of being lost in your thinking, when you awaken… ![“Instead of being lost in your thinking, when you awaken you recognize yourself as the awareness behind it. Thinking then ceases to be a self-serving autonomous activity that takes possession of you and runs your life.” quote by Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/eckhart-tolle-81_activity_instead-of-being-lost-in-your-thinking-w_1929936.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/eckhart-tolle-81_activity_instead-of-being-lost-in-your-thinking-w_1929936.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d1/eckhart-tolle-81_activity_instead-of-being-lost-in-your-thinking-w_1929936.jpg) > “Instead of being lost in your thinking, when you awaken you recognize yourself as the awareness behind it. Thinking then ceases to be a self-serving autonomous activity that takes possession of you and runs your life.” [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. Awakening to pure awareness stops thoughts from dominating identity and behavior. **In simple terms:** Recognize awareness behind thoughts. Key Takeaway Observe thoughts without attachment. Themes mindfulness self-awareness spirituality Mood calm reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation practice - stressful decision-making - creative work - personal growth Key Concepts non-duality consciousness ego dissolution Questions to Reflect On - How does you shape your daily actions? - What practices help maintain this awareness? A Different Perspective Awareness alone may not solve practical problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autonomous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomous/) [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“When you are aware that you are thinking, that awareness is not part of thinking. It is a different dimension of consciousness. And it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-are-aware-that-you-are-thinking-that-awareness-is-not-part/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [What is the relationship between awareness and thinking? Awareness is the space in which thoughts exist when that space has become conscious of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/what-is-the-relationship-between-awareness-and-thinking-awareness-is/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [What further helps to reveal reality is when our personal thinking ceases to take reality for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/what-further-helps-to-reveal-reality-is-when-our-personal-thinking/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Even great spirits have only their five-fingers' breadth of experience - just beyond it their thinking ceases and their endless empty space and stupidity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/even-great-spirits-have-only-their-five-fingers-breadth-of-experience/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Awareness is not the same as thinking. It is a complementary form of intelligence, a way of knowing that is at least as wonderful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/awareness-is-not-the-same-as-thinking-it-is-a-complementary-form-of/) [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/) > [Although most of us don't spend time thinking about our thoughts, increasing your awareness of your thinking habits proves useful in building resilience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-morin/although-most-of-us-don-t-spend-time-thinking-about-our-thoughts/) [Amy Morin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-morin/) > [It is possible, I'm lost \| If you are thinking about taking part in a competition, so you are sure to lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/it-is-possible-i-m-lost-if-you-are-thinking-about-taking-part-in-a/) Mak\_786 > [I think people generally are lost, as they keep thinking about what is going to happen and what they have done. They are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sushant-singh-rajput/i-think-people-generally-are-lost-as-they-keep-thinking-about-what-is/) [Sushant Singh Rajput](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sushant-singh-rajput/) > [I don't want to get so lost in thinking about me and talking about me all the time in interviews. It's so nice to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/river-phoenix/i-don-t-want-to-get-so-lost-in-thinking-about-me-and-talking-about-me/) [River Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/river-phoenix/) > [“That is why I don't believe much in what Mr. Descartes said: "I think, therefore I am." I think, therefore I'm lost in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/that-is-why-i-don-t-believe-much-in-what-mr-descartes-said-i-think/) [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [“Out here are books and magazines- asleep, carrying the entire world in them, and standing there are walls and windows, staring at me, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suman-pokhrel/out-here-are-books-and-magazines-asleep-carrying-the-entire-world-in/) [Suman Pokhrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suman-pokhrel/) > [“Emergency food has become very useful indeed, and to a very large assortment of people and institutions. The United States Department of Agriculture uses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-poppendieck/emergency-food-has-become-very-useful-indeed-and-to-a-very-large/) [Janet Poppendieck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-poppendieck/) > [Conversations about piracy don't have to be condemning. They don't have to be preachy, self serving or reactionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ti-west/conversations-about-piracy-don-t-have-to-be-condemning-they-don-t/) [Ti West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ti-west/) > [“The writer ultimately tires of the subject's self-serving story, and substitutes a story of his own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-writer-ultimately-tires-of-the-subject-s-self-serving-story-and/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [Contrary to some self-serving reports, I am okay and strong. I have not hit rock bottom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-tomic/contrary-to-some-self-serving-reports-i-am-okay-and-strong-i-have-not/) [Bernard Tomic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-tomic/) ## 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. When you realize that, there is a joyous energy behind what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/on-a-deeper-level-you-are-already-complete-when-you-realize-that/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/life-will-give-you-whatever-experience-is-most-helpful-for-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [You may not yet be able to bring your unconscious mind activity into awareness as thoughts, but it will always be reflected in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/you-may-not-yet-be-able-to-bring-your-unconscious-mind-activity-into/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“War is a mind-set, and all action that comes out of such a mind-set will either strengthen the enemy, the perceived evil, or, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/war-is-a-mind-set-and-all-action-that-comes-out-of-such-a-mind-set/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Get the inside right, and the outside will take care of itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/get-the-inside-right-and-the-outside-will-take-care-of-itself/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [It is very hard to tell when I started to be a spiritual teacher. 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 Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. 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If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [For the longest time, neuroscientists were forced to be passive observers of brain activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gero-miesenbock/for-the-longest-time-neuroscientists-were-forced-to-be-passive/) Gero Miesenbock > [Enjoyment is not a goal, it is a feeling that accompanies important ongoing activity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/enjoyment-is-not-a-goal-it-is-a-feeling-that-accompanies-important/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [Once an activity has been socialized, it is impossible to point out, by concrete example, how men in a free market could better conduct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/once-an-activity-has-been-socialized-it-is-impossible-to-point-out-by/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [“Fun is not an activity, it is a state of mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/fun-is-not-an-activity-it-is-a-state-of-mind/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [I have to consider everything I eat; I consider every activity I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kimball/i-have-to-consider-everything-i-eat-i-consider-every-activity-i-do/) [Charlie Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kimball/) > [Almost all good businesses engage in 'pain today, gain tomorrow' activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/almost-all-good-businesses-engage-in-pain-today-gain-tomorrow/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) Browse all 3,263 Activity quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Instead of being lost in your thinking, when you awaken you recognize yourself as the awareness behind it. 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