--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many people are already aware of the…" description: "\"“Many people are already aware of the difference between spirituality and religion. They realize that having a belief system—a set of thoughts that you..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/eckhart-tolle-81_absolute-truth_many-people-are-already-aware-of-the-dif_1378711.jpg" --- # Many people are already aware of the difference between… ![“Many people are already aware of the difference between spirituality and religion. They realize that having a belief system—a set of thoughts that you regard as the absolute truth—does not make you spiritual no matter what the nature of those beliefs is. In fact, the more you make your thoughts…” quote by Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/eckhart-tolle-81_absolute-truth_many-people-are-already-aware-of-the-dif_1378711.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/eckhart-tolle-81_absolute-truth_many-people-are-already-aware-of-the-dif_1378711.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf7/eckhart-tolle-81_absolute-truth_many-people-are-already-aware-of-the-dif_1378711.jpg) > ““Many people are already aware of the difference between spirituality and religion. They realize that having a belief system—a set of thoughts that you regard as the absolute truth—does not make you spiritual no matter what the nature of those beliefs is. In fact, the more you make your thoughts (beliefs) into your identity, the more cut off you are from the spiritual dimension within yourself.”” [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. Identifying beliefs as identity blocks spiritual connection; the more rigid the belief system, the farther one drifts from inner spirituality. **In simple terms:** Rigid beliefs hinder spiritual awareness. Key Takeaway Question and soften fixed beliefs. Themes spirituality identity beliefs Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal meditation - therapy - education - leadership development Key Concepts Non-duality self-inquiry Questions to Reflect On - What beliefs do you hold that limit your inner awareness? - How can you practice openness without losing direction? A Different Perspective Spirituality can be expressed through structured belief systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absolute truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absolute-truth/) [Difference Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difference-spirituality-4769456/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religion Realize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion-realize-4769457/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Spirituality And Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality-and-religion-220562/) [Spirituality Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality-religion-787900/) ## Related quotes > [“The essence of all spirituality and religion is to gaze into the endless unknown and unknowable with the capacity for awe rather than terror,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashavan/the-essence-of-all-spirituality-and-religion-is-to-gaze-into-the/) [Ashavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashavan/) > [Religions, of course, have their own demanding intellectual traditions, as Jesuits and Talmudic scholars might attest… But, in its less rigorous, popular forms, religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-kaminer/religions-of-course-have-their-own-demanding-intellectual-traditions/) [Wendy Kaminer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-kaminer/) > [“all questions were once spiritual. 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You can also have religion without spirituality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/you-can-have-religion-with-spirituality-you-can-also-have-religion/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Since the beginning of time, spirituality and religion have been called to fill in the gaps that science did not understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/since-the-beginning-of-time-spirituality-and-religion-have-been/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [I connected to this idea of faith and spirituality and religion and Christianity being a very strong crux of who I am at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-c-moore/i-connected-to-this-idea-of-faith-and-spirituality-and-religion-and/) [Adrienne C. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-c-moore/) > [“Mr. Langdon all questions were once spiritual. Since the beginning of time spirituality and religion have been called on to fill in the gaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/mr-langdon-all-questions-were-once-spiritual-since-the-beginning-of/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“If you were far out in space, you would see that the sun neither rises nor sets, but that it shines continuously. 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Anything that generates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/there-are-many-sources-of-spirituality-religion-may-be-the-most/) [Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/) > [ An important distinction can be made between religion and spirituality. Religion \[is\] concerned with faith in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/an-important-distinction-can-be-made-between-religion-and/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“Religion is the archrival of intimate spirituality…Religion, a tiresome system of manmade dos and don’ts, woulds and shoulds – impotent to change human lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-banister/religion-is-the-archrival-of-intimate-spirituality-religion-a/) [Douglas Banister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-banister/) > [Twelve-step promotes spirituality, not religion. It gives a practical, day-to-day spirituality that tells me what I can and cannot control. There is room to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/twelve-step-promotes-spirituality-not-religion-it-gives-a-practical/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [“The temple of the most high begins with the body which houses our life, the essence of our existence. Africans are in bondage today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-k-nvenge/the-temple-of-the-most-high-begins-with-the-body-which-houses-our/) [P.K. Nvenge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-k-nvenge/) ## 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 Absolute truth quotes > [“I know quite well why I became a historian… It was because dissension was frowned upon when I was a child: 'Don't argue, Claudia,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-know-quite-well-why-i-became-a-historian-it-was-because-dissension/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“When you’ve tired of me,” she said softly, precisely, “Apollo will still be my brother. 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If this Mirror called Knowledge remains in the phase where nothing is reflected in it, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/the-absolute-truth-of-knowledge-is-precisely-non-knowledge-if-this/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [Let every one of us cultivate, in every word that issues from our mouth, absolute truth. I say cultivate, because to very few people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/let-every-one-of-us-cultivate-in-every-word-that-issues-from-our/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Who can know what love means at the feet of the absolute truth?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/who-can-know-what-love-means-at-the-feet-of-the-absolute-truth/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [When I say that a thing is true, I mean that I cannot help believing it... 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