Freedom arises when one sees thoughts as passing phenomena… it’s a game-changer. This simple shift in perspective can completely transform your relationship with your own mind. It’s the key to not being ruled by every mental storm that blows through.
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Meaning
The core message is that true psychological freedom comes from dis-identifying with your thoughts. You are not your thoughts; you are the awareness behind them.
Explanation
Okay, so here’s how this really works in practice. Most of us live our entire lives believing “I am my thoughts.” A critical thought arises, and we think, “I am a critical person.” An anxious thought pops up, and we become, “I am an anxious person.” We fuse with the content of our minds.
But what Goleman is pointing to—and this is straight from ancient wisdom, modern psychology backs it up now too—is that thoughts are just events in the mind. They’re like clouds passing in the sky, or cars driving past your house. You can notice a cloud without becoming the cloud. You can see a car without getting in and driving away with it. That’s the shift. When you see thoughts as passing phenomena, you stop being their passenger and you start to become the observer, the one who is aware. And in that space of awareness, that little gap, is where your freedom lives. It’s where you get to choose your response, instead of being hijacked by a random, passing thought.
Quote Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Category | Spiritual (229) |
| Topics | freedom (82), identity (102), thoughts (29) |
| Literary Style | philosophical (434) |
| Emotion / Mood | liberating (29) |
| Overall Quote Score | 84 (319) |
Origin & Factcheck
This quote comes directly from Daniel Goleman’s 1988 book, The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience, published in the United States. It’s often, and understandably, misattributed to Buddhist teachers or Eckhart Tolle, as it perfectly encapsulates their teachings, but the phrasing is Goleman’s own synthesis of these meditative principles.
Attribution Summary
| Context | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Author | Daniel Goleman (125) |
| Source Type | Book (4032) |
| Source/Book Name | The Meditative Mind: The Varieties of Meditative Experience (60) |
| Origin Timeperiod | Modern (530) |
| Original Language | English (3668) |
| Authenticity | Verified (4032) |
Author Bio
Daniel Goleman is a psychologist and bestselling author whose journalism at The New York Times brought brain and behavior science to a wide audience. He earned a BA from Amherst and a PhD in psychology from Harvard, and studied in India on a Harvard fellowship. Goleman’s research and writing helped mainstream emotional intelligence, leadership competencies, attention, and contemplative science. He co-founded CASEL and a leading research consortium on EI at work. The Daniel Goleman book list includes Emotional Intelligence, Working with Emotional Intelligence, Primal Leadership, Social Intelligence, Focus, and Altered Traits.
| Official Website
Where is this quotation located?
| Quotation | Freedom arises when one sees thoughts as passing phenomena, not as the self |
| Book Details | Publication Year/Date: 1977 (originally as The Varieties of Meditative Experience, revised 1988 as The Meditative Mind); ISBN: 9780874778335; Last Edition: Tarcher/Putnam 1988; Number of pages: 320. |
| Where is it? | Approximate page from 1988 edition, Chapter 6: The Mind in Balance |