--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To the ego, loving and wanting are the…" description: "\"To the ego, loving and wanting are the same, whereas true love has no wanting in it, no desire to possess or for your partner to change.\" — Eckhart Tolle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/eckhart-tolle-81_desire_to-the-ego-loving-and-wanting-are-the-sa_642832.jpg" --- # To the ego, loving and wanting are the same, whereas true… ![“To the ego, loving and wanting are the same, whereas true love has no wanting in it, no desire to possess or for your partner to change.” quote by Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/eckhart-tolle-81_desire_to-the-ego-loving-and-wanting-are-the-sa_642832.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/eckhart-tolle-81_desire_to-the-ego-loving-and-wanting-are-the-sa_642832.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/eckhart-tolle-81_desire_to-the-ego-loving-and-wanting-are-the-sa_642832.jpg) > “To the ego, loving and wanting are the same, whereas true love has no wanting in it, no desire to possess or for your partner to change.” [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. Distinguishes ego-driven desire from selfless love, which lacks possessiveness. **In simple terms:** True love is desireless and non‑possessive. Key Takeaway Cultivate selfless love. Themes love ego spirituality Mood peaceful insightful Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - personal growth - spiritual practice Key Concepts non‑attachment inner peace Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice love without wanting? - What does non‑attachment look like in relationships? A Different Perspective True love can be idealized and hard to achieve. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/) [Ego Loving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego-loving-4338568/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-does/) [Love Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-wanting-264036/) [Loving Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving-wanting-1173847/) [Partners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/partners/) [True love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-love/) ## Related quotes > [Speaking without ego loving without intentions, caring without expectation, praying without selfishness are the sign of my relationship with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nkemjika/speaking-without-ego-loving-without-intentions-caring-without/) [Nkemjika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nkemjika/) > [Being loved is good for the ego, but loving someone else is the pleasure of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-loved-is-good-for-the-ego-but-loving-someone-else-is-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can't stop loving or wanting love because when its right, it's the best thing in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-stop-loving-or-wanting-love-because-when-its-right-it-s-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Loving someone is not about wanting the other person to be yours, it is about wanting the other person to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/loving-someone-is-not-about-wanting-the-other-person-to-be-yours-it/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [You should never have to convince someone into loving you and wanting to be with you. you deserve to see someone who can easily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-salmansohn/you-should-never-have-to-convince-someone-into-loving-you-and-wanting/) [Karen Salmansohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-salmansohn/) > [You can't stop loving or wanting to love because when its right it's the best thing in the world. When you're in a relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-sweat/you-can-t-stop-loving-or-wanting-to-love-because-when-its-right-it-s/) [Keith Sweat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-sweat/) > [“I’m here Bethie. Loving you. Wanting you. I’m not going to run into a hole and lick my wounds. I’m going to bleed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-morrison/i-m-here-bethie-loving-you-wanting-you-i-m-not-going-to-run-into-a/) [Angela Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-morrison/) > [“Stop ruining love by wanting it so bad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-brown/stop-ruining-love-by-wanting-it-so-bad/) [Derrick Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-brown/) > [The one you first fell in love with, will be the one you keep wanting forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/capon/the-one-you-first-fell-in-love-with-will-be-the-one-you-keep-wanting/) [Capon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/capon/) > [Where love is, what can be wanting? Where it is not, what can possibly be profitable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/where-love-is-what-can-be-wanting-where-it-is-not-what-can-possibly/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Grief is love not wanting to let go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-a-grollman/grief-is-love-not-wanting-to-let-go/) [Earl A Grollman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-a-grollman/) > [“I think that’s the beauty of love, wanting to be with someone; taste their sweetness and their fears, live their lives and be there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-jace/i-think-that-s-the-beauty-of-love-wanting-to-be-with-someone-taste/) [Cameron Jace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-jace/) > [Love, for me, is always wanting the best for the other person even if it's not what's best for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/love-for-me-is-always-wanting-the-best-for-the-other-person-even-if/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [Love will always hurt. when you demand they will do as much as you willing to do for them. When you expect they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clv/love-will-always-hurt-when-you-demand-they-will-do-as-much-as-you/) [CLV](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clv/) > [“I love you because… wait… I take a drag from my pipe… I really don’t know. I think that’s the beauty of love, wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-jace/i-love-you-because-wait-i-take-a-drag-from-my-pipe-i-really-don-t/) [Cameron Jace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-jace/) ## 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 Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To the ego, loving and wanting are the same, whereas true love has no wanting in it, no desire to possess or for your partner to change.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eckhart Tolle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-the-ego-loving-and-wanting-are-the-same-whereas-true-love-has-no/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-the-ego-loving-and-wanting-are-the-same-whereas-true-love-has-no/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/eckhart-tolle-81_desire_to-the-ego-loving-and-wanting-are-the-sa_642832.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/eckhart-tolle-81_desire_to-the-ego-loving-and-wanting-are-the-sa_642832.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83d/eckhart-tolle-81_desire_to-the-ego-loving-and-wanting-are-the-sa_642832.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To the ego, loving and wanting are the same, whereas true love has no wanting in it, no desire to possess or…” — 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": "To the ego, loving and wanting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-the-ego-loving-and-wanting-are-the-same-whereas-true-love-has-no/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-the-ego-loving-and-wanting-are-the-same-whereas-true-love-has-no/#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 } } ] } ```