--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Time is the horizontal dimension of life…" description: "\"Time is the horizontal dimension of life, the surface layer of reality. Then there is the vertical dimension of depth, accessible only through the port..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d4/eckhart-tolle-81_depth_time-is-the-horizontal-dimension-of-life_1265081.jpg" --- # Time is the horizontal dimension of life, the surface… ![“Time is the horizontal dimension of life, the surface layer of reality. Then there is the vertical dimension of depth, accessible only through the portal of the present moment.” quote by Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d4/eckhart-tolle-81_depth_time-is-the-horizontal-dimension-of-life_1265081.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d4/eckhart-tolle-81_depth_time-is-the-horizontal-dimension-of-life_1265081.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d4/eckhart-tolle-81_depth_time-is-the-horizontal-dimension-of-life_1265081.jpg) > “Time is the horizontal dimension of life, the surface layer of reality. Then there is the vertical dimension of depth, accessible only through the portal of the present 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. Life has horizontal (time) and vertical (depth) dimensions; depth is accessed only in the present moment. **In simple terms:** Depth of life is felt now. Key Takeaway Practice present‑moment awareness. Themes mindfulness existence time Mood calm thoughtful Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - meditation - daily routines - stress reduction Key Concepts philosophical insight spiritual practice Questions to Reflect On - How does present awareness deepen experience? - What balances time and depth? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on present may ignore future planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Dimension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimension/) [Dimension Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimension-depth-1599099/) [Dimension Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimension-life-1887111/) [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Horizontal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horizontal/) [Layers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/layers/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Portal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/portal/) [Present moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-moment/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Vertical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-vertical-4035578/) [Surface](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surface/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time Horizontal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-horizontal-4035577/) [Vertical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vertical/) ## Related quotes > [When you shoot on high-definition, everything is very sharp and clear, sometimes at the cost of losing dimension and depth of field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-bellman/when-you-shoot-on-high-definition-everything-is-very-sharp-and-clear/) [Gina Bellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-bellman/) > [Marriage is not synonymous to change but a new dimension to life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonali-bendre/marriage-is-not-synonymous-to-change-but-a-new-dimension-to-life/) [Sonali Bendre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonali-bendre/) > [I realize that I cannot live without a spiritual dimension in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-pagels/i-realize-that-i-cannot-live-without-a-spiritual-dimension-in-my-life/) [Elaine Pagels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-pagels/) > [The formless dimension of life is this moment. This moment is timeless and formless - the eternal itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-formless-dimension-of-life-is-this-moment-this-moment-is-timeless/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We have created characters and animated them in the dimension of depth, revealing through them to our perturbed world that the things we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/we-have-created-characters-and-animated-them-in-the-dimension-of/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [In Christian terms, evangelization and humanization are not alternatives. Nor are the 'vertical dimension' of faith and the 'horizontal dimension' of love for one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-moltmann/in-christian-terms-evangelization-and-humanization-are-not-2/) [Jurgen Moltmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-moltmann/) > [Science spotlights three dimensions of nature that point to God. The first is the fact that nature obeys laws. The second is the dimension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/science-spotlights-three-dimensions-of-nature-that-point-to-god-the/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [“another book is another dimension. another life full of imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-armando/another-book-is-another-dimension-another-life-full-of-imagination/) [Kevin Armando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-armando/) > [The outer purpose belongs to the horizontal dimension of space and time; the inner purpose concerns a deepening of your Being in the vertical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-outer-purpose-belongs-to-the-horizontal-dimension-of-space-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“Most of us, are stuck in one dimension that life is our work than waking up and walking out to see a whole new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-the-vamplover/most-of-us-are-stuck-in-one-dimension-that-life-is-our-work-than/) [Amber the vamplover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-the-vamplover/) > [...death is ultimately a dimension of life through which we journey into timelessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/death-is-ultimately-a-dimension-of-life-through-which-we-journey-into/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [In many ways, the physical dimension of life becomes less important as the soul enlarges. In my late twenties, I was astonished by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-lustbader/in-many-ways-the-physical-dimension-of-life-becomes-less-important-as/) [Wendy Lustbader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-lustbader/) > [Without my photography life would be boring. Photography adds an extra dimension to my life. Somehow it confirms my place in the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rennie-ellis/without-my-photography-life-would-be-boring-photography-adds-an-extra/) [Rennie Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rennie-ellis/) > [Jesus said, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.' I think if he lived nowadays, instead of 'kingdom,' he would have said, 'dimension.' And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/jesus-said-the-kingdom-of-heaven-is-within-you-i-think-if-he-lived/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. I was impossible to knock down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-felt-more-solidly-composed-now-that-i-was-horizontal-i-was/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## 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. 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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 Depth quotes > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. 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It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [Even mud gives the illusion of depth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/even-mud-gives-the-illusion-of-depth/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-easier-to-perceive-error-than-to-find-truth-for-the-former-lies/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“depth of the riches both”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-w-tozer/depth-of-the-riches-both/) [A.W. Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-w-tozer/) > [Life can be difficult sometimes, it gets bumpy. What with family and kids and things not going exactly like you planned. But that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-van-patten/life-can-be-difficult-sometimes-it-gets-bumpy-what-with-family-and/) [Joyce Van Patten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-van-patten/) > [What really holds their marriage together are mutual respect of an awesome depth, a shared sense of humor, faith that they were brought together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/what-really-holds-their-marriage-together-are-mutual-respect-of-an/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [...a writer's works, like the water in an artesian well, mount to a height which is in proportion to the depth to which suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-writer-s-works-like-the-water-in-an-artesian-well-mount-to-a-height/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. 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