Gelassenheit
Composed inner tranquility
Gelassenheit is a German term for a calm, composed acceptance of circumstances—a letting-be or release of anxiety about things beyond one's control.
The word appears in philosophical and religious contexts, particularly in Heidegger's thought (where it suggests openness to being) and among Amish and Mennonite communities (where it describes yielding to God's will and community).
In casual use, it names the serene detachment of someone who has stopped struggling against what cannot be changed.
Peaceful mental state
- composureEmotional self-control
- equanimityUnshakable mental steadiness
- serenityUndisturbed mental quietude
- acceptanceConsent to receive
mindfulness · stress-relief · relaxation · tranquility · inner-peace · centeredness · stoicism · resilience
Undisturbed mental quietude
- equanimityUnshakable mental steadiness
- composureEmotional self-control
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
acceptance · surrender · tranquility · openness · receptivity · attunement · phenomenology · being
Yielding to another's will
- nonresistanceRefusal to oppose force
- humilityFreedom from arrogance
- AmishTraditional simple-living sect
- MennoniteAnabaptist Christian denomination
obedience · community · plainness · simplicity · pacifism · discipleship · martyrdom · suffering
Separation or emotional uninvolvement
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- divine unionSpiritual oneness with deity
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
- prayerAddress to deity
spiritual poverty · emptiness · abandonment · quietude · mysticism · soul · annihilation · humility
calmness
Peaceful mental state
- composureEmotional self-control
- equanimityUnshakable mental steadiness
- serenityUndisturbed mental quietude
acceptance · mindfulness · stress-relief · relaxation · tranquility · inner-peace · centeredness · stoicism · resilience · detachment
serenity
Undisturbed mental quietude
- equanimityUnshakable mental steadiness
- composureEmotional self-control
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
detachment · acceptance · surrender · tranquility · openness · receptivity · attunement · phenomenology · being · presence
submission
Yielding to another's will
- nonresistanceRefusal to oppose force
- humilityFreedom from arrogance
- AmishTraditional simple-living sect
Mennonite · obedience · community · plainness · simplicity · pacifism · discipleship · martyrdom · suffering · patience
detachment
Separation or emotional uninvolvement
- contemplationSustained reflective attention
- divine unionSpiritual oneness with deity
- stillnessComplete lack of motion
prayer · spiritual poverty · emptiness · abandonment · quietude · mysticism · soul · annihilation · humility · inner peace
- Anabaptist traditionsadult baptism, plain dress, foot washing, nonresistance, shunning
- HeideggerDasein, being-in-the-world, authenticity, inauthenticity, care
- Medieval MysticismHildegard of Bingen, divine union, mystical union, Godhead, negative theology
Gelassenheitanxiety
Persistent apprehensive distress
agitation · panic · turmoil · distress · perturbation
Gelassenheitgrasping
Greedy for wealth
clinging · attachment · covetousness · possessiveness · clutching