Meister Eckhart was a thirteenth-fourteenth century philosopher, theologian, and mystic, whose way of thinking was way ahead of his time. Even though he wasn’t always appreciated for his way of thinking, a part of his work has remained with us throughout time. My admiration and love go out to this amazing Soul that has inspired me to write this post.

31 Life Changing Lessons to Learn from Meister Eckhart

1. Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.

“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” ~ Meister Eckhart

2. Do exactly what you would do if you felt most secure.

“Do exactly what you would do if you felt most secure.” ~ Meister Eckhart

3. Let go and let be.

“For the person who has learned to let go and let be, nothing can ever get in the way again.” ~ Meister Eckhart

“He who would be serene and pure needs but one thing, detachment.” ~ Meister Eckhart

“The only thing that burns in hell is the part of you that won’t let go of your life: your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away, but they’re not punishing you, they’re freeing your soul. If you’re frightened of dying and you’re holding on, you’ll see devils tearing your life away. If you’ve made your peace, then the devils are really angels freeing you from the earth.” ~ Meister Eckhart

4. The soul does not grow by addition but by subtraction.

“The soul does not grow by addition but by subtraction.” ~ Meister Eckhart

5. There is no yesterday nor any tomorrow, but only Now.

“The now wherein God made the world is as near this time as the now I am speaking in this moment, and the last day is as near this now as was yesterday.” ~ Meister Eckhart

“There exists only the present instant… a Now which always and without end is itself new. There is no yesterday nor any tomorrow, but only Now, as it was a thousand years ago and as it will be a thousand years hence.” ~ Meister Eckhart

6. The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake.

“The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of making a mistake.” Meister Eckhart

7. Attitude is everything.

“When you are thwarted, it is your own attitude that is out of order.” ~ Meister Eckhart

8. It is in the darkness that one finds the light.

“Truly, it is in darkness that one finds the light, so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us.” ~ Meister Eckhart

9. Go into your own heart and learn to know yourself there.

“A human being has so many skins inside, covering the depths of the heart. We know so many things, but we don’t know ourselves! Why, thirty or forty skins or hides, as thick and hard as an ox’s or bear’s, cover the soul. Go into your own ground and learn to know yourself there.” ~ Meister Eckhart

10. You should not worry as much about what you do but rather about what you are.

People should not worry as much about what they do but rather about what they are. If they and their ways are good, then their deeds are radiant. If you are righteous, then what you do will also be righteous. We should not think that holiness is based on what we do but rather on what we are, for it is not our works which sanctify us but we who sanctify our works. Meister Eckhart

11. God is with you everywhere.

“Some people prefer solitude. They say their peace of mind depends on this. Others say they would be better off in church. If you do well, you do well wherever you are. If you fail, you fail wherever you are. Your surroundings don’t matter. God is with you everywhere — in the market place as well as in seclusion or in the church. If you look for nothing but God, nothing or no one can disturb you. God is not distracted by a multitude of things. Nor can we be.” ~ Meister Eckhart

12. To the quiet mind, all things are possible.

“To the quiet mind all things are possible. What is a quiet mind? A quiet mind is one which nothing weighs on, nothing worries, which, free from ties and from all self-seeking, is wholly merged into the will of God and dead to its own.” ~ Meister Eckhart

“The quieter the mind, the more powerful, the worthier, the deeper, the more telling and more perfect the prayer is. Meister Eckhart

13. Thank you is the best prayer.

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough. Meister Eckhart

14. The outward work will never be puny if the inward work is great.

“The outward work will never be puny if the inward work is great.” ~ Meister Eckhart

15. Let God be God in you.

“God expects but one thing of you, and that is that you should come out of yourself in so far as you are a created being made and let God be God in you.” ~ Meister Eckhart

16. Life lives without asking why it is itself living.

“If anyone went on for a thousand years asking of life: ‘Why are you living?’ life, if it could answer, would only say, ‘I live so that I may live.’ That is because life lives out of its own ground and springs from its own source, and so it lives without asking why it is itself living.” ~ Meister Eckhart

17. The most significant person is precisely the one sitting across from you right now.

“The most important hour is always the present. The most significant person is precisely the one sitting across from you right now. The most necessary work is always love.” ~ Meister Eckhart

18. All God wants of you is a peaceful heart.

“All God wants of man is a peaceful heart.” ~ Meister Eckhart

19. One person who has mastered life is better than a thousand persons who have mastered only the contents of books.

“One person who has mastered life is better than a thousand persons who have mastered only the contents of books, but no one can get anything out of life without God.” ~ Meister Eckhart

20. Spirituality is not to be learned by running away from things.

“Spirituality is not to be learned by flight from the world, or by running away from things, or by turning solitary and going apart from the world. Rather, we must learn an inner solitude wherever or with whomsoever we may be. We must learn to penetrate things and find God there.” ~ Meister Eckhart

21. To be empty of things is to be full of God.

“To be full of things is to be empty of God. To be empty of things is to be full of God.” ~ Meister Eckhart

“Whoever wants to receive everything must also renounce everything. That is a fair bargain and an equal return … Therefore, because God wants to give us himself and all things as out own free possessions, so he wants to deprive us, utterly and completely, of all possessiveness.” ~Meister Eckhart

22. God is always at home.

“Between God and Me there is no ‘Between’.” ~ Meister Eckhart

“I am as sure as I live that nothing is so near to me as God. God is nearer to me than I am to myself; my existence depends on the nearness and the presence of God.” ~ Meister Eckhart

“God is at home, it’s we who have gone out for a walk.” ~ Meister Eckhart

23. The best name for God is compassion.

“You may call God love, you may call God goodness. But the best name for God is compassion.” ~ Meister Eckhart

24. The eye through which you see God is the same eye through which God sees you.

“The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God’s eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.” ~ Meister Eckhart

25. Wisdom consists in doing the next thing you have to do, with your whole heart.

“Wisdom consists in doing the next thing you have to do, doing it with your whole heart, and finding delight in doing it.” ~ Meister Eckhart

26. Nothing in all creation is so like God as stillness.

“There is a huge silence inside each of us that beckons us into itself, and the recovery of our own silence can begin to teach us the language of heaven.” ~ Meister Eckhart

“Nothing in all creation is so like God as stillness.” ~ Meister Eckhart

27. As long as you love another person less than yourself, you will not succeed in loving yourself.

If you love yourself, you love everybody else as you do yourself. As long as you love another person less than yourself, you will not succeed in loving yourself, but if you love all alike, including yourself, you will love them as one person and that person is both God and man. Thus he is the great righteous person who, loving himself, loves all others equally.” ~ Meister Eckhart

28. God is a thousand times more ready to give than we are to receive.

“Above all else, know this: Be prepared at all times for the gifts of God and be ready always for new ones. For God is a thousand times more ready to give than we are to receive.” ~ Meister Eckhart

29. The soul is created in a place between Time and Eternity.

“The soul is created in a place between Time and Eternity: with its highest powers it touches Eternity, with its lower Time.” ~ Meister Eckhart

30. When you seek anything of your own, you will never find God.

“Know that when you seek anything of your own, you will never find God, because you do not seek God purely. You are seeking something along with God, and you are acting just as if you were to make a candle out of God in order to look for something with it. Once one finds the things one is looking for, one throws the candle away. This is what you are doing.” ~ Meister Eckhart

31. The seed of God is in us.

“The seed of God is in us. Given an intelligent and hard-working farmer, it will thrive and grow up to God, whose seed it is; and accordingly, its fruits will be God-nature. Pear seeds grow into pear trees, nut seeds into nut trees, and God-seed into God.” ~ Meister Eckhart

~love, Luminita💫

Do you have a favorite quote from Meister Eckhart? If you do, I would love to know what that is in the comment section below 🙂

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