--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The moment you realize you are not…" description: "\"“The moment you realize you are not present, you are present. Whenever you are able to observe your mind, you are no longer trapped in it. Another fact..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/eckhart-tolle-81_presence_the-moment-you-realize-you-are-not-prese_59249.jpg" --- # The moment you realize you are not present, you are… ![“The moment you realize you are not present, you are present. Whenever you are able to observe your mind, you are no longer trapped in it. Another factor has come in, something that is not of the mind: the witnessing presence.” quote by Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/eckhart-tolle-81_presence_the-moment-you-realize-you-are-not-prese_59249.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/eckhart-tolle-81_presence_the-moment-you-realize-you-are-not-prese_59249.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/eckhart-tolle-81_presence_the-moment-you-realize-you-are-not-prese_59249.jpg) > ““The moment you realize you are not present, you are present. Whenever you are able to observe your mind, you are no longer trapped in it. Another factor has come in, something that is not of the mind: the witnessing presence.”” [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. Awareness of self‑observation creates a state of presence that frees you from mental identification. **In simple terms:** Self‑observation yields presence. Key Takeaway Observe to escape mental entrapment. Themes consciousness mindfulness self‑awareness presence spirituality Mood calm insightful reflective Type philosophical spiritual advice When to use this quote - meditation - stressful thinking - creative block - habitual rumination Key Concepts observer mind presence identity Practical Applications - mindfulness training - psychotherapy Questions to Reflect On - How does observing thoughts change your experience? - What prevents you from staying present? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Your mind is an instrument, a tool. It is there to be used for a specific task, and when the task is completed, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/your-mind-is-an-instrument-a-tool-it-is-there-to-be-used-for-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Meditation is nothing but putting the mind aside, putting the mind out of the way, and bringing a witnessing which is always there but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/meditation-is-nothing-but-putting-the-mind-aside-putting-the-mind-out/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“The Wanderer in every moment spent awake faces two alternatives: a choice is to be made between the ambitions stretching between past and future,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-m-wanderer/the-wanderer-in-every-moment-spent-awake-faces-two-alternatives-a/) [Frank M. Wanderer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-m-wanderer/) > [The moment you realize you are not present, you are present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-moment-you-realize-you-are-not-present-you-are-present/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Failure to observe what is in the mind of another has seldom made a man unhappy; but those who do not observe the movements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/failure-to-observe-what-is-in-the-mind-of-another-has-seldom-made-a/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“The enlightened person has learned to observe their mind and control how it goes. They have cultivated consciousness about consciousness. It is doubtful whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-tuffley/the-enlightened-person-has-learned-to-observe-their-mind-and-control/) [David Tuffley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-tuffley/) > [We might realize that the present moment may be one of an eternal or sempiternal series of moments, all of which will resemble it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ashbery/we-might-realize-that-the-present-moment-may-be-one-of-an-eternal-or/) [John Ashbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ashbery/) > [“The closer you get to your past the sooner you realize it was never present”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bluenscottish/the-closer-you-get-to-your-past-the-sooner-you-realize-it-was-never/) Bluenscottish > [Aloneness, like life, becomes more interesting when you realize it's a present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwen-davis/aloneness-like-life-becomes-more-interesting-when-you-realize-it-s-a/) [Gwen Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwen-davis/) > [“It seems odd that during much of our lives, most of the time, we seek distraction. Any sort of distraction seems to do, anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meletios-webber/it-seems-odd-that-during-much-of-our-lives-most-of-the-time-we-seek/) Meletios Webber > [“Touching the present moment, we realize that the present is made of the past and is creating the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/touching-the-present-moment-we-realize-that-the-present-is-made-of/) [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [We are this divine energy. It's not something we have to attain. We just have to realize it, to be present to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/we-are-this-divine-energy-it-s-not-something-we-have-to-attain-we/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [I sometimes ask people, 'Can you be aware of your own presence? Not the thoughts that you're having, not the emotions that you're having,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/i-sometimes-ask-people-can-you-be-aware-of-your-own-presence-not-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Until presence becomes your predominant state, you may find yourself moving back and forth for a while between the old consciousness and the new,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/until-presence-becomes-your-predominant-state-you-may-find-yourself/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Whenever you interact with people,don't be there primarily as a function or a role,But as a Field of conscious Presence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-interact-with-people-don-t-be-there-primarily-as-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) ## 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 Presence quotes > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [“Only through absence can we understand presence, he told me, and I understood that by then. I understood it well. After”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-domet/only-through-absence-can-we-understand-presence-he-told-me-and-i/) [Sarah Domet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-domet/) > [Racism has never been outright gone in the history of this nation, but I think we've had moments where everybody has been really fed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jemele-hill/racism-has-never-been-outright-gone-in-the-history-of-this-nation-but/) [Jemele Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jemele-hill/) > [When one is frank, one's very presence is a compliment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-moore/when-one-is-frank-one-s-very-presence-is-a-compliment/) [Marianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-moore/) > [“A spark of every fire we seek is already within us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/a-spark-of-every-fire-we-seek-is-already-within-us/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [In solitude, at last, we’re able to let God define us the way we are always supposed to be defined—by relationship: the I-thou relationship,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/in-solitude-at-last-we-re-able-to-let-god-define-us-the-way-we-are/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Throughout my years, I've had the pleasure of assembling and training what I believe to be the best group of people in the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-adair/throughout-my-years-i-ve-had-the-pleasure-of-assembling-and-training/) [Red Adair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-adair/) > [“I was thinking how most people don't make you feel much of anything at all. Don't make you feel like time spent with them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-lotter/i-was-thinking-how-most-people-don-t-make-you-feel-much-of-anything/) [Jane Lotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-lotter/) > [Seeing my children makes me come most alive. I come home and I see my kids' faces light up when they see me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-patrick/seeing-my-children-makes-me-come-most-alive-i-come-home-and-i-see-my/) [Richard Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-patrick/) > [Many are observing Ferguson and witnessing the anger, demonstrations, looting and vandalism and calling for quiet. But quiet isn't enough. The absence of noise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-jackson/many-are-observing-ferguson-and-witnessing-the-anger-demonstrations/) [Jesse Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-jackson/) > [God is near whether you sense His presence or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/god-is-near-whether-you-sense-his-presence-or-not/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“In your darkest times, never be afraid. The Lord's presence is always with you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/in-your-darkest-times-never-be-afraid-the-lord-s-presence-is-always/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [What distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-russell/what-distinguishes-a-great-player-is-his-presence-when-he-goes-on-to/) [Bill Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-russell/) > [“But with Dimitri, I never felt like I had to be anything more what I already was. I didn't have to entertain him or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/but-with-dimitri-i-never-felt-like-i-had-to-be-anything-more-what-i/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“Few delights can equal the mere presence of one whom we trust utterly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/few-delights-can-equal-the-mere-presence-of-one-whom-we-trust-utterly/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) [Browse all 1,426 Presence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The moment you realize you are not present, you are present. Whenever you are able to observe your mind, you are no longer trapped in it. Another factor has come in, something that is not of the mind: the witnessing presence.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eckhart Tolle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-moment-you-realize-you-are-not-present-you-are-present-whenever/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Presence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-moment-you-realize-you-are-not-present-you-are-present-whenever/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/eckhart-tolle-81_presence_the-moment-you-realize-you-are-not-prese_59249.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/eckhart-tolle-81_presence_the-moment-you-realize-you-are-not-prese_59249.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee9/eckhart-tolle-81_presence_the-moment-you-realize-you-are-not-prese_59249.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The moment you realize you are not present, you are present. Whenever you are able to observe your mind, you…” — Eckhart Tolle", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Eckhart Tolle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The moment you realize you are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-moment-you-realize-you-are-not-present-you-are-present-whenever/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-moment-you-realize-you-are-not-present-you-are-present-whenever/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```