Eckhart TolleNYT Bestselling author of the Power of Now

How to Sense the Essence of Another Person

27 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief teaching, Eckhart Tolle explains that when you have become aware of your own essential presence, you can extend that awareness to perceive the essence of another person. By maintaining sustained eye contact for a few minutes, you can experience a sense of oneness that transcends personality. He describes how this perception integrates multiple channels—seeing the body, noticing how the mind expresses itself through words and facial expressions, feeling emotional bonds, and even touching—allowing you to sense the underlying presence that both you and the other person share.

Chapters

When you can sense the essence of who you are, then you can also sense the essence of who the other— who or what the other person is. And sometimes you can sense it when you look into a person's eyes for a couple of minutes, and you can then join together and feel that oneness beyond the personality. You see the body, you are aware of how their mind manifests through their words, their facial expressions, and so on. And you interact with that. You might touch the body of the other person, you may engage with their mind, you might feel the emotional bond, but you can also sense the underlying presence in you and in him or her.