Eckhart TolleNYT Bestselling author of the Power of Now

The Practice of Listening to Silence

26 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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1:17

In this teaching excerpt, Eckhart Tolle explains that ordinary consciousness is always directed toward some content—thoughts, perceptions, feelings—and we identify with whatever we are conscious of. He points out that we never experience pure consciousness because we assume it must have an object. He then introduces a simple practice: deliberately shift attention to the vastness of space or the stillness/silence surrounding us, rather than to the mental or sensory noise. By focusing on this empty space, the object of awareness withdraws, leaving consciousness aware of itself. This self‑aware state is described as consciousness that is conscious of itself, a foundational step toward deeper presence.

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So normally your consciousness is content, you're always conscious of something, that's normal. You're not only conscious of something, a thought, a sense perception, a feeling, a memory which is a thought, you're not only always conscious of something, you are identified with that thing that you are conscious of. Every thought that you are conscious of, you are identified with it. But you're never conscious of nothing because you think that doesn't make sense. And now we're introducing this little practice where you pay attention to the vastness of space, or you pay attention to stillness or silence around you, not the noise. You pay attention to the silence. So when you pay attention to that, You become aware now, conscious not of something, because there's nothing there in the silence or in the space. And when there's consciousness and the object is withdrawn, all that remains is consciousness that is conscious of itself.