Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings

Eckhart talks with a live audience about the new consciousness he sees emerging around the world. He says one of life’s great mysteries is that the universe is conscious. While scientists struggle to define it and we can’t see it under a microscope, consciousness exists. Eckhart says we are living proof of that and we have a role to play. He quotes an ancient aphorism: “You are the light of the world.” He says what that means is we are the light of consciousness manifesting in the world.

Eckhart talks with a live audience about letting go of our false sense of self. He says when we base our identity on externals: our looks, what we do and where we live - that’s the ego. In that state, we’re either inferior or superior; never equal. True relationships become impossible. But when we’re grounded in essential being, the need to compare disappears and we discover we are infinitely precious.

Eckhart talks with a live audience about freeing oneself from the mind to find presence. He says, we must become aware of the harmful thoughts that hold us hostage. Life’s crises need not drag us into unconsciousness. We can stay alert, and let the rough times take us to a deeper state of awareness. Eckhart says while the path to presence is narrow, it ultimately leads to life.

Eckhart talks with a live audience about the process of becoming aware. When challenges arise, he says go with it. Learn to accept each moment as if we had chosen it. He explains that if you do this, what at first looks like an obstacle then becomes an opening into transcendence.

Eckhart talks with a live audience about his belief that we are meant to bring consciousness to this world. To do that, we must keep the pathways clear. We rise above thought, not fall below it, which is what happens when we use substances like alcohol and drugs. Once we become free of that, Eckhart says we realize the essence behind the personality… which is pure presence.