--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We cannot even let the other person into…" description: "\"We cannot even let the other person into our hearts or minds unless we empty ourselves. We can truly listen to him or truly hear her only out of emptin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/m-scott-peck-1921_emptiness_we-cannot-even-let-the-other-person-into_2139039.png" --- # We cannot even let the other person into our hearts or… ![“We cannot even let the other person into our hearts or minds unless we empty ourselves. We can truly listen to him or truly hear her only out of emptiness.” quote by M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/m-scott-peck-1921_emptiness_we-cannot-even-let-the-other-person-into_2139039.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/m-scott-peck-1921_emptiness_we-cannot-even-let-the-other-person-into_2139039.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/m-scott-peck-1921_emptiness_we-cannot-even-let-the-other-person-into_2139039.png) > “We cannot even let the other person into our hearts or minds unless we empty ourselves. We can truly listen to him or truly hear her only out of emptiness.” [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Listening deeply requires setting aside one's own thoughts and judgments, creating space for another's voice. **In simple terms:** To truly hear others, we must empty ourselves of ego. Key Takeaway Empty your mind to hear others. Themes empathy listening selflessness Mood reflective calm Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - counseling sessions - conflict resolution - personal relationships - team meetings Key Concepts psychology mindfulness communication Questions to Reflect On - What judgments must you release to listen fully? - How does emptiness enhance understanding? A Different Perspective If you are too focused on your own agenda, you cannot hear others. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Hear Emptiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hear-emptiness-4045738/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Let Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-person/) [Listen Truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen-truly-336250/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Truly Listen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truly-listen-1736935/) ## Related quotes > [We cannot let another person into our hearts or minds unless we empty ourselves. We can truly listen to him or truly hear her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/we-cannot-let-another-person-into-our-hearts-or-minds-unless-we-empty/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/you-cannot-truly-listen-to-anyone-and-do-anything-else-at-the-same/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Listen to me: If we are truly meant to be, then we will find our way back to each other. It's as simple as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawsons-creek/listen-to-me-if-we-are-truly-meant-to-be-then-we-will-find-our-way/) [Dawsons Creek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawsons-creek/) > [“It was as if I were powerless to resist the temptation; my senses were overcome. I could hear the emptiness, and taste the silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/it-was-as-if-i-were-powerless-to-resist-the-temptation-my-senses-were/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [You can't truly listen to someone and do anything else at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-treasure/you-can-t-truly-listen-to-someone-and-do-anything-else-at-the-same/) [Julian Treasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-treasure/) > [True listening is never self-effacement. We bring the whole self to the process, rather than denying self. When we truly listen, we aren't just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-thorn-coyle/true-listening-is-never-self-effacement-we-bring-the-whole-self-to/) [T. Thorn Coyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-thorn-coyle/) > [“It is a tremendous gift to simply and truly listen to another.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryant-mcgill/it-is-a-tremendous-gift-to-simply-and-truly-listen-to-another/) [Bryant McGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryant-mcgill/) > [True listening is another way of bringing stillness into the relationship. When you truly listen to someone, the dimension of stillness arises and becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/true-listening-is-another-way-of-bringing-stillness-into-the-2/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [True listening is another way of bringing stillness into the relationship. When you truly listen to someone, the dimension of stillness arises and becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/true-listening-is-another-way-of-bringing-stillness-into-the/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [I think the truest things come from silence, but everything's always so clogged up with noise. If everything falls away, and you can truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/i-think-the-truest-things-come-from-silence-but-everything-s-always/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) > [“It only takes one voice to echo a new path, and one ear to truly listen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/it-only-takes-one-voice-to-echo-a-new-path-and-one-ear-to-truly-listen/) [Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrmn-ca-vikram-verma/) > [“When you’re able to truly listen to someone—and continue listening until you completely understand their point of view—the other person will receive the acknowledgment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-banning/when-you-re-able-to-truly-listen-to-someone-and-continue-listening/) [Beth Banning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-banning/) > [“There are people in the world, who are just wrong, and then there are the masses of population that are right, or at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/there-are-people-in-the-world-who-are-just-wrong-and-then-there-are/) [J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/) > [The more desires you have, the more misery you will create for yourself. Misery is a consequence of desiring - and you go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-desires-you-have-the-more-misery-you-will-create-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The usefulness of the cup is its emptiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-lee/the-usefulness-of-the-cup-is-its-emptiness/) [Bruce Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-lee/) ## More by M. Scott Peck > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [As I grow through love, so grows my joy, ever more present, ever more constant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/as-i-grow-through-love-so-grows-my-joy-ever-more-present-ever-more/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [“Life is difficult.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/life-is-difficult/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [“The second most common misconception about love is the idea that dependency is love...Its effect is seen most dramatically in an individual who makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/the-second-most-common-misconception-about-love-is-the-idea-that/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Although I was raised in a profoundly secular home, I had a belief, an awareness of God, from as far back as I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/although-i-was-raised-in-a-profoundly-secular-home-i-had-a-belief-an/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [I've gone to great lengths not to be a guru. I think the notion of guruhood is utterly pathological, and I couldn't live that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/i-ve-gone-to-great-lengths-not-to-be-a-guru-i-think-the-notion-of/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [The whole course of human history may depend on a change of heart in one solitary and even humble individual - for it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/the-whole-course-of-human-history-may-depend-on-a-change-of-heart-in/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [The act of loving is an act of self-evolution even when the purpose of the act is someone else's growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/the-act-of-loving-is-an-act-of-self-evolution-even-when-the-purpose/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [“Benjamin Franklin said, “Those things that hurt, instruct.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/benjamin-franklin-said-those-things-that-hurt-instruct/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Abandon the urge to simplify everything, to look for formulas and easy answers, and to begin to think multidimensionally, to glory in the mystery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/abandon-the-urge-to-simplify-everything-to-look-for-formulas-and-easy/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Listening well is an exercise of attention and by necessity hard work. It is because they do not realize this or because they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/listening-well-is-an-exercise-of-attention-and-by-necessity-hard-work/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [“It is not selfishness or unselfishness that distinguishes love from non-love; it is the aim of the action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/it-is-not-selfishness-or-unselfishness-that-distinguishes-love-from/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [Love is too large, too deep ever to be truly understood or measured or limited within the framework of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/love-is-too-large-too-deep-ever-to-be-truly-understood-or-measured-or/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [There is no act of love that is not an act of work or courage. No exceptions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/there-is-no-act-of-love-that-is-not-an-act-of-work-or-courage-no/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [To be free people we must assume total responsibility for ourselves, but in doing so must possess the capacity to reject responsibility that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/to-be-free-people-we-must-assume-total-responsibility-for-ourselves/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) [Explore all 198 M. Scott Peck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) ## More Emptiness quotes > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [I've always been a very restless person. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“I've decided that has been the great achievement of our age: to so thoroughly flood the planet with megabits that every image and fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/i-ve-decided-that-has-been-the-great-achievement-of-our-age-to-so/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [“ Desolation would not be the proper word to describe his feelings now; it was more the sense of emptiness he imagined he might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shusaku-endo/desolation-would-not-be-the-proper-word-to-describe-his-feelings-now/) [Shusaku Endo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shusaku-endo/) > [“those of little merit would not even have doubts about this doctrine of emptiness. even suspicion that objects are empty wrecks the seeds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aryadeva/those-of-little-merit-would-not-even-have-doubts-about-this-doctrine/) [aryadeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aryadeva/) > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“I close my eyes and I let my body shut itself down and I let my mind wander. It wanders to a familiar place.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-frey/i-close-my-eyes-and-i-let-my-body-shut-itself-down-and-i-let-my-mind/) [James Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-frey/) > [Buddhist words such as compassion and emptiness don't mean much until we start cultivating our innate ability simply to be there with pain with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/buddhist-words-such-as-compassion-and-emptiness-don-t-mean-much-until/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [“Only the thirsty knows the real taste of water; only the lonely knows the real weight of emptiness!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/only-the-thirsty-knows-the-real-taste-of-water-only-the-lonely-knows/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What I was trying to convey there was the kind of waste land that was left after the war. It was a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-martin/what-i-was-trying-to-convey-there-was-the-kind-of-waste-land-that-was/) [George Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-martin/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [But what was there to say? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I got this emptiness inside that got me fighting for approval because I missed out on my daddy saying, Way to Go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/i-got-this-emptiness-inside-that-got-me-fighting-for-approval-because/) [Lecrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“As we see it, space is possible only when the primordial Being swallows emptiness. Space is born when the Being accepts emptiness, the Nonbeing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/as-we-see-it-space-is-possible-only-when-the-primordial-being/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) [Browse all 1,374 Emptiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emptiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We cannot even let the other person into our hearts or minds unless we empty ourselves. We can truly listen to him or truly hear her only out of emptiness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "M. Scott Peck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/we-cannot-even-let-the-other-person-into-our-hearts-or-minds-unless/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Emptiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/we-cannot-even-let-the-other-person-into-our-hearts-or-minds-unless/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/m-scott-peck-1921_emptiness_we-cannot-even-let-the-other-person-into_2139039.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/m-scott-peck-1921_emptiness_we-cannot-even-let-the-other-person-into_2139039.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/m-scott-peck-1921_emptiness_we-cannot-even-let-the-other-person-into_2139039.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We cannot even let the other person into our hearts or minds unless we empty ourselves. We can truly listen…” — M. Scott Peck", "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": "M. Scott Peck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We cannot even let the other...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/we-cannot-even-let-the-other-person-into-our-hearts-or-minds-unless/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/we-cannot-even-let-the-other-person-into-our-hearts-or-minds-unless/#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 } } ] } ```