Eckhart Tolle’s Simple Tool To Navigate Tension: “Can I Be The Space For This?”
It’s midday, and you’re neck-deep in work, the kind that makes your shoulders ache and your mind race.
The phone rings.
You glance at the screen — it’s that person in your life. You know the kind. The energy vampire, the one who always leaves you feeling drained every time you converse with them.
You hesitate.
Part of you wants to ignore it, knowing that answering will only add to your stress. Yet, there’s that nagging guilt, the little voice whispering that you should pick up, be polite, and be there for them.
So, what do you do?
Eckhart Tolle often talks about an exercise he calls “Can I be the space for this?” He describes it as a fundamental spiritual practice that allows you to create mental and emotional space for whatever arises in your experience, helping you foster a sense of acceptance, clarity, and self-awareness. Ultimately, it’s a tool to dissolve tension, letting unpleasant feelings arise and pass through your experience without resistance. It then empowers you to respond with conscious awareness instead of reacting unconsciously.