Personal Growth

Practical wisdom for life drawn from philosophy, psychology, spirituality and personal experiences.

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Eckhart Tolle’s Beautiful Quote I Apply to Practice Conscious Presence

5 min readApr 16, 2025

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Photo by Luke Richardson on Unsplash

You’re here, but are you here? It’s the kind of question, teacher and author Eckhart Tolle would ask. Most people miss their lives while living it. They listen to their partner or colleague while planning their reply. And alternative between two timelines in their heads; the past and the future.

Tolle wants us to “Honor the present moment,” to flow with joy. Not just notice it — honour it like a sacred experience. I’m trying to live the truth in his wisdom — but I forget it all the time.

He said, “As soon as you honor the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease. When you act out the present-moment awareness, whatever you do becomes imbued with a sense of quality, care, and love — even the most simple action.”

Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh describes conscious presence as a tea-drinking ceremony. He wrote, “Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves — slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.”

Honouring the present has been a work in progress for me. Sometimes I get caught up in my thoughts. And even try to control things that are clearly…

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Personal Growth
Personal Growth

Published in Personal Growth

Practical wisdom for life drawn from philosophy, psychology, spirituality and personal experiences.

Thomas Oppong
Thomas Oppong

Written by Thomas Oppong

The wisdom of great minds. My essays cross between psychology, philosophy and self-improvement.