Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings

Eckhart discusses discovering the joy of being. He says in any given moment we have the chance to remain open to life, align with what is and experience a natural sense of peace and aliveness. Eckhart helps us release past conditioning to experience ourselves and our lives with a fresh perspective and sense of delight.

Eckhart takes listeners through a live meditation inspired by a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The wick of individual life runs deep into the oil of pure being." Eckhart says we have great depth within. He encourages listeners to reach beyond the limitations of their personality to find what he calls the Deep I. He describes it as that aspect of ourselves which transcends the ego and is connected to the ultimate source of universal consciousness.

Eckhart takes listeners through two live meditations about the stillness within. He says finding the transcendent dimension is the only thing that will satisfy us. He believes it’s not something we can achieve, it’s something we discover in the here and now. Eckhart explains why becoming aware of ourselves in stillness is the essence of all identity.

Eckhart answers questions on several topics, including one about addiction. He says people are addicted to many substances. But the greatest addiction of all is thinking. It’s like a drug…and people can’t stop.  They resist letting go because it shields them from the painful parts of their lives. Eckhart says the solution is presence. Becoming aware slows down an overactive mind. Our confusion dissipates…and thinking loses its ability to wreak havoc in our lives.

Eckhart addresses topics like surrendering the ego, what to do with anger and how to confront our fears. Eckhart says fear arises when we become drawn into negative thinking and project it into the future. He goes on to say that most of the time, fear has no basis in reality because when the future finally arrives, it’s actually the present moment again. And in the present there is usually nothing to fear.