“The fundamental difference between an instinctive response and an emotion is this: An instinctive response is the body’s direct response to some external situation. An emotion, on the other hand, is the body’s response to thought. Indirectly, an emotion can also be a response to an actual situation or event, but it will be a response to the event seen through the filter of a mental interpretation, the future of thought, that is to say, through the mental concepts of good and bad, like and dislike, me and mine.”

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About Eckhart Tolle

German-born spiritual teacher and author of the 1990s and 2000s, Eckhart Tolle is best known for his work on mindfulness and presence, particularly through his bestselling book *The Power of Now*. His teachings blend Eastern philosophy with Western psychology, emphasizing the end of suffering through awareness.

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