Any action is often better than no action, especially if you have been stuck in an unhappy situation for a long time. If it is a mistake, at least you learn something, in which case it's no longer a mistake. If you remain stuck, you learn nothing.
β Eckhart Tolle: The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
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Commentary: This is a very concise but powerful spiritual teaching, with great depth and several layers of meaning to it. Tolle is absolutely right: people can in fact get 'stuck' spiritually, and caught in areas where they feel that they can't really go on or improve their situation. What also may be worse is being stuck and not even realizing it. So how exactly does one go about attaining freedom and avoid getting lost or trapped in one place spiritually?
Using myself as an example, quite a few of you are probably starting to recognize my name because I'm in the r/awakened forum every day, sharing and learning. Sometimes I'll say something based off of my study that people find profound and helpful, but sometimes I get into arguments and have everyone pile on me to argue and downvote me to oblivion, haha. What's crucial to understand is that no matter what I'm always looking back towards my own mind, and seeing my actions and reactions to whatever comes up...
The practice of observing the mind is literally the greatest among all practices in matters of spirituality, and if you do it right then no other practice or study is really needed. The beauty of the way of observing the mind is that eventually you'll come to see where you may be stuck, what prior conditions and circumstances are controlling your actions now, why you think the way that you do, and all manner of things that will ultimately help you to find clarity and inner peace; in Zen this is called 'seeing clear through'. And in all things it's crucial to be authentic to yourself: if you want to study, then study, and if you want to teach, then teach! Simply observe and watch what comes up; that is the marrow and essence of life that I don't want anyone to miss out on.
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*Nansen said, "The Way is not a matter of knowing or not knowing. Knowing is delusion; not knowing is confusion. When you have really reached the true Way beyond doubt, you will find it as vast and boundless as o
... keep reading on reddit β‘She's going through a nasty divorce right now and my heart broke over Christmas, so I want to her her something she'll really like.
I live in Toronto so I should be able to find most things. I'm not against ordering off amazon.
Sorry if this isn't an appropriate post, I just don't know what to do and I want her to have something nice on her birthday.
Eckhart Tolle has helped me a lot. He's not a buddhists neccessarily but he said he studied buddhism, zen, philosophy, and psychology and that's where his conclusions come from. He said that if you have enough conscious awareness / lack of ego upon death, that you will break through to the other side and you will not be reincarnated. Is this true? If there's enough awareness and lack of self / ego than you will not reincarnate and your awareness will persist to the next realm?
That is the real spiritual awakening, when something emerges from within you that is deeper than who you thought you were. So, the person is still there, but one could almost say that something more powerful shines through the person.
Eckhart Tolle
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Commentary: Regarding spiritual matters, we come to the question of what exactly is awakening, anyway? What is being awakened from, and what are we awakening to? It could be said that 'sleeping' people are fully immersed in the ego, reacting to phenomena without much agency or control in the matter. Their subjective fantasies and notions are 'truth' to them. When things come up, the circumstances and situations control the sleeping person, and they react immediately with thought and emotion to the point where no real decisions can be said to ever be made. They are cast about here and there by the myriad things, believing this dream state to be real life when nothing could be further from the case. That is suffering, and that is delusion.
But a few, through some means or another, wake up in some way to a deeper and more meaningful reality as Tolle explains here. This stage can be taken to be truth in some manner, and it is, but it's important to note that awakening isn't the same as enlightenment: awakening is literally just waking up, while enlightenment is the actual application of the truth that one has woken up to and has integrated meaningfully into their lives. You may wake up for the day, but it's what you decide to actually do for that day that counts. Carpe diem.
Of course, I loved them too when I read them in my ignorance. How are they so attractive to people not looking for the truth about self? Maybe a better question is why do we miss the point that is laid out so simply and so perfectly but still come away with an excitement for the book? These are all best sellers but awakening remains so rare. I am suddenly fascinated by this question.
"Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment."
β Eckhart Tolle
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Commentary: Tell me, when a snowfall comes can a single flake fall out of place?
Hey! Thank you if you help me with this.
My boyfriend broke up with me 5 days ago. It really hurts... One thing I do is accept the pain I'm feeling in myself. I guess that is what he calls surrendering yourself for your pain body or. When I do this, this helps me a lot, but my problem is that after I feel some calm and peace, I continue to stay in sadness. I feel the peace and sadness, but more and more sadness. What is the problem? Maybe I add some thoughts to that? And how often should I do that? Because if e.g. I do this once and I feel better, some minutes later I feel myself awful again, so I could do it through the whole day...
And the other problem that bothers me the most is the feeling of hope. He broke up with me, but it is really hard for me to accept because I think it happened because of an insignificant thing. We talked once after the breakup, and he said that he thinks this was the right decision. I mean, I can accept his decision and I don't send messages to him, but I always imagine that one day he will change his mind because that was an insignificant thing, and will come back to me, and I always watch my phone if I get a message from him. And it became excessive thinking, that I know I shouldn't feel hope, but I do all the time. And I stifle the feeling of hope and then it comes back. I don't know how to use Tolle's teaching. What to do? Is it better if I accept the feeling of hope and let myself to feel hope, or just observe the thought and then come back to the present, and than the hope disappears? I'm doing the last version, but it is hard because it comes back all the time. Will it become less frequent by practicing it?
Thank you if you help me!
I'm currently reading the book for the second time. I'm on chapter 4. This chapter is all about accepting the situation you're in and accepting life as it is. I've always struggled to keep progressing and improving as I'm reviewing my past life. I've never been satisfied with what I am, and it was my primary motivation for getting better and better every day. If I accept myself as what I am and get satisfied with my identity and life and everything. If I'm really at true ease, why should I try to get better? What would be my motivation to get better in life?
Am I a complete person? Of course not. I accept it. But I'm not happy with it. And I'm trying to change myself to be a better person. How can I be satisfied with myself in this situation?
Give up defining yourself - to yourself or to others. You won't die. You will come to life. And don't be concerned with how others define you. When they define you, they are limiting themselves, so it's their problem.
Whenever you interact with people, don't be there primarily as a function or a role, but as the field of conscious Presence. You can only lose something that you have, but you cannot lose something that you are.
β Eckhart Tolle [A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose]
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Commentary: When it all comes down to it, what are you, really? Can you be anything other than what you are, or what your past decisions and circumstances have decided for your current situation? In truth, nothing wastes more energy or potential than trying to be other than what you are deep down inside. There may be distractions from this truth here and there in life, but you will always find yourself drawn to what you originally were in the first place.
An artist doesn't 'become' an artist and a writer doesn't 'become' a writer. Life is a self-fulfilling prophecy, and every day is of the utmost importance. Tolle is right in that what you are can never be lost, which is also why materialism can't touch or compare in any way to a true path of spirituality. The real wealth is what you've had all along, don't squander it.
"If you no longer want to create pain for yourself and others, if you no longer want to add to the residue of past pain that still lives on in you, then don't create any more time, or at least no more than is necessary to deal with the practical aspects of your life. How to stop creating time? Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. Make the Now the primary focus of your life. Whereas before you dwelt in time and paid brief visits to the Now, have your dwelling place in the Now and pay brief visits to past and future when required to deal with the practical aspects of your life situation."
This past week, I was a little sick. While being sick my motivation went so low and my anxious thoughts went up high. I kept thinking of pointless scenarios that took place in the future. These scenarios caused me to stay on the overthinking train. While reading A New Earth by Tolle, I was reminded that my ego was taking over because I felt not enough. I felt like I was struggling at my job as well as in other areas in my life. Today, I am feeling better and feeling much more present. I feel enough:)
This is for anyone who is struggling with the constant chatter of the mind caused by the ego trying to take you down. You are Enough and are meant for great things! Donβt let your mind tell you otherwise :)
You are in control!
From my heart to your heart,
Jay
Do any TMI practitioners follow the teachings of Eckhart Tolle. I am reading the power of now, and the way he explains meditation and the mind/ego really resonates with me and just makes sense. Whereas TMI can often times feel too mechanical and formulaic.
I operate on a divergent wavelength compared to most people you will meet... not necessarily a better one, but certainly a different one. I am a deep and complicated soul who tends to bring out the best in others, but no one would ever use words like βupstandingβ or βtameβ to characterize me. Looking for a chat partner who can keep up with me. Someone who has an eye toward the things in life that truly matter and not the transient, superficial trappings that so easily ensnare others.
Letβs have late-night, weed-enhanced conversations about philosophy and the mysteries of the universe. Tell me your dreams. Your fears. Suspend belief in the normalcy of everyday life and go on a different journey with me. Letβs brave the Gates of Thermopylae and take the Underworld by storm. Nothing will stop us.
It seems to be gone but maybe someone has a copy or anything?
Eckhart Tolle once said:
"Before you kill yourself, why don't you try surrender?", and the word surrender can be replaced with "not minding what happens". When you surrender, you let go and you stop trying to control life, situations and people. You surrender to the universe because because you're one with it. Fighting against it and resisting the way things are only causes suffering. And when you know that you're one with everything, what is there to give a fuck about?
>Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy. This will miraculously transform your whole life.β - Eckhart Tolle
A lot of our suffering comes from our resistance of whatever arises in the present. The present moment might take the form of an obnoxious person being loud, or something "bad" happening, and as long as we resist these things, it only amplifies our suffering. The present always is as it is, it's only the mind that comes in and starts finding things that are wrong with it, and it's always successful because the ego is great at finding problems where there are none. This doesn't mean that you don't act if something requires action, it just means that before you act, you accept whatever arises in the present. Action that comes out of acceptance is more powerful than action that comes out of resistance and ego.
The essence of what I'm saying here can be condensed into one sentence spoken by J. Krishnamurti:
>I have no problem because I don't mind what happens.
We've been outjerked again, boys.
> Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy. This will miraculously transform your whole life.β - Eckhart Tolle
A lot of our suffering comes from our resistance of whatever arises in the present. The present moment might take the form of an obnoxious person being loud, or something "bad" happening, and as long as we resist these things, it only amplifies our suffering. The present always is as it is, it's only the mind that comes in and starts finding things that are wrong with it, and it's always successful because the ego is great at finding problems where there are none. This doesn't mean that you don't act if something requires action, it just means that before you act, you accept whatever arises in the present. Action that comes out of acceptance is more powerful than action that comes out of resistance and ego.
The essence of what I'm saying here can be condensed into one sentence spoken by J. Krishnamurti:
>I have no problem because I don't mind what happens.
