Choice implies consciousness - a high degree of consciousness. Without it, you have no choice. Choice begins the moment you disidentify from the mind and its conditioned patterns, the moment you become present....Nobody chooses dysfunction, conflict, pain. Nobody chooses insanity. They happen because there is not enough presence in you to dissolve the past, not enough light to dispel the darkness. You are not fully here. You have not quite woken up yet. In the meantime, the conditioned mind is running your life.
Eckhart TolleEvery time you create a gap in the stream of mind, the light of your consciousness grows stronger
Eckhart TolleEnlightened groups can exist, as long as the individuals' sense of identity is not derived from a mentally defined image of us.
Eckhart TolleMy mind cannot know you, only labels, judgments, facts, and opinions about you. Being alone knows directly.
Eckhart TolleThought subsides when you pet your dog or you have a purring cat on your chest. Even just watching an animal can take you out of your mind. It is more deeply connected with the source of life than most humans, and that rootedness in Being transmits itself to you. Millions of people who otherwise would be completely lost in the conceptual reality of their mind are kept sane by living with an animal.
Eckhart Tolle