--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you become aware of silence…" description: "\"When you become aware of silence, immediately there is that state of inner still alertness. You are present. You have stepped out of thousands of years..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/eckhart-tolle-81_alertness_when-you-become-aware-of-silence-immedia_2173411.jpg" --- # When you become aware of silence, immediately there is… ![“When you become aware of silence, immediately there is that state of inner still alertness. You are present. You have stepped out of thousands of years of collective human conditioning.” quote by Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/eckhart-tolle-81_alertness_when-you-become-aware-of-silence-immedia_2173411.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/eckhart-tolle-81_alertness_when-you-become-aware-of-silence-immedia_2173411.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/18c/eckhart-tolle-81_alertness_when-you-become-aware-of-silence-immedia_2173411.jpg) > “When you become aware of silence, immediately there is that state of inner still alertness. You are present. You have stepped out of thousands of years of collective human conditioning.” [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 silence creates a state of alert presence, freeing you from deep conditioning conditioning **In simple terms:** Silence brings alert presence. Key Takeaway Notice stillness, break old patterns. Themes mindfulness presence awakening Mood calm reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - meditation - therapy - daily mindfulness - stress relief Key Concepts consciousness inner stillness conditioning Questions to Reflect On - How does silence affect your daily thoughts? - What conditioning patterns emerge when you are still? A Different Perspective Silence can be uncomfortable, making sustained awareness challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conditioning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conditioning/) [Consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consciousness/) [Human condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-condition/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [The moment you become aware of the silence, you also have become silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-moment-you-become-aware-of-the-silence-you-also-have-become-silent/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [But even in the schoolyard I'd been aware of that silence, that reserve in him, as though he'd been raised by foxes and language…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-even-in-the-schoolyard-i-d-been-aware-of-that-silence-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the unawakened state you don't use thought, but thought uses you. You are, one could almost say, possessed by thought, which is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/in-the-unawakened-state-you-don-t-use-thought-but-thought-uses-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [When you become comfortable with uncertainty, infinite possibilities open up in your life. It means fear is no longer a dominant factor in what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-become-comfortable-with-uncertainty-infinite-possibilities/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [If uncertainty is unacceptable to you, it turns into fear. If it is perfectly acceptable, it turns into increased aliveness, alertness, and creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/if-uncertainty-is-unacceptable-to-you-it-turns-into-fear-if-it-is/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [To be aware of little, quiet things, you need to be quiet inside. A high degree of alertness is required. Be still. Look. Listen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-be-aware-of-little-quiet-things-you-need-to-be-quiet-inside-a-high/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [When you take your attention into the present moment, a certain alertness arises. You become more conscious of what's around you, but also, strangely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-take-your-attention-into-the-present-moment-a-certain/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [If the price of peace were a lowering of your consciousness, and the price of stillness a lack of vitality and alertness, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/if-the-price-of-peace-were-a-lowering-of-your-consciousness-and-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [You simply have to surrender to the present moment. Be alert. Watch something in a state of alertness. Always, continuously, bring that into everyday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/you-simply-have-to-surrender-to-the-present-moment-be-alert-watch/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [When your attention moves into the Now, there is an alertness. It is as if you were waking up from a dream, the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-your-attention-moves-into-the-now-there-is-an-alertness-it-is-as/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Without perceiving things through the old filter of past conditioning and conceptualization, one can sense the universe is intensely alive. Even so-called inanimate objects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/without-perceiving-things-through-the-old-filter-of-past-conditioning/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Your unhappiness ultimately arises not from the circumstances of your life but from the conditioning of your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/your-unhappiness-ultimately-arises-not-from-the-circumstances-of-your/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [When you meet another human being, you meet the physical self, then you meet the psychological self that's behind it, which is their mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-meet-another-human-being-you-meet-the-physical-self-then-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The insanity of the collective egoic mind, amplified by science and technology, is rapidly taking our species to the brink of disaster. Evolve or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-insanity-of-the-collective-egoic-mind-amplified-by-science-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [By far the greater part of violence that humans inflicted on each other is not the work of criminals or mentally deranged, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/by-far-the-greater-part-of-violence-that-humans-inflicted-on-each/) [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 Alertness quotes > [Cultivate the habit of thinking ahead, and of anticipating the necessary and immediate consequences of all your actions… Likewise in your pleasures, ask yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/cultivate-the-habit-of-thinking-ahead-and-of-anticipating-the/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Jesus Christ does not teach us a spirituality “of closed eyes”, but one of “alertness”, one which entails an absolute duty to take notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/jesus-christ-does-not-teach-us-a-spirituality-of-closed-eyes-but-one/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Sailing a boat calls for quick action, a blending of feeling with the wind and water as well as with the very heart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-matthew-adams/sailing-a-boat-calls-for-quick-action-a-blending-of-feeling-with-the/) [George Matthew Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-matthew-adams/) > [Shoulda, coulda, and woulda won't get it done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-riley/shoulda-coulda-and-woulda-won-t-get-it-done/) [Pat Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-riley/) > [The same is the case when you enter a womb, enter into a fresh body, and start the journey of desires. But if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-same-is-the-case-when-you-enter-a-womb-enter-into-a-fresh-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Quick naps improve your senses, alertness, decision making, and creativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/quick-naps-improve-your-senses-alertness-decision-making-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe that every person, male and female, needs to be in a protective mode at all times of alertness to potential danger. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-believe-that-every-person-male-and-female-needs-to-be-in-a/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Forgiveness feels most dramatic when some ancient pattern of self-punishment collapses in a torrent of tears. But it is just as effective when practiced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-patrick-miller/forgiveness-feels-most-dramatic-when-some-ancient-pattern-of-self/) [D. Patrick Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-patrick-miller/) > [Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/alertness-is-the-hidden-discipline-of-familiarity/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [When you take your attention into the present moment, a certain alertness arises. You become more conscious of what's around you, but also, strangely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/when-you-take-your-attention-into-the-present-moment-a-certain/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“•To become more expert at anything, the community needs to encourage and support the brain/ mind principle of relaxed alertness. Fear can hinder the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-a-flores/to-become-more-expert-at-anything-the-community-needs-to-encourage/) Kelly a Flores > [To be aware of little, quiet things, you need to be quiet inside. A high degree of alertness is required. Be still. Look. Listen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/to-be-aware-of-little-quiet-things-you-need-to-be-quiet-inside-a-high/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“that alertness for measuring and weighing event against eventuality, circumstance against human nature, his own fallible judgement and mortal clay against not only human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/that-alertness-for-measuring-and-weighing-event-against-eventuality/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [What we must remember, however, is that preservation of liberties does not depend on motives. A suppression of liberty has the same effect whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/what-we-must-remember-however-is-that-preservation-of-liberties-does/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [The practice of 'asanas' and 'pranayama' wards off disease and helps to maintain alertness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/the-practice-of-asanas-and-pranayama-wards-off-disease-and-helps-to/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) Browse all 82 Alertness quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you become aware of silence, immediately there is that state of inner still alertness. You are present. 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