When Eckhart Tolle was in his twenties, he suffered from virtually constant worry, punctuated by bouts of suicidal melancholy. His life changed permanently one night, not far from his 29th birthday.
When he confronted the voice in his brain, there was no longer any dread. There was nothing except great tranquility and happiness. The goal of this overview is to educate you on how to achieve the same level of enlightenment.
You Are Not Your Mind
Many people want pleasure or fulfillment outside of themselves and approval, security, or affection. Rather, they must recognize that they possess a far better treasure than anything the world has to give.
Everyone has a voice within their heads, but the good news is that you can get rid of it.
Begin by paying attention to the voice as much as possible. When you listen to a thought, you become aware of both the thought and yourself as the thought's witness. Learning to disidentify with your mind is the most important step on your path to enlightenment.
You still employ your thinking brain in the enlightened state, but it is mostly for practical reasons. There is inner quiet, and you are devoid of involuntary internal speech.
Emotions may be observed in the same manner that thoughts can be observed. Concentrate your focus inward and experience the emotion's energy. Your pain may be divided into current and old suffering that is still present in your mind and body. You can stop causing suffering in the present and erase anguish from the past.
Consciousness: The Way Out of Pain
The majority of human suffering is manageable. So long as your life is governed by your own mind, it is self-created. When you truly understand that the present moment is all you have, you will notice that life begins to work for you rather than against you.
Pain can only feed off of itself. It is incapable of surviving on delight. Suppose you stay present and aware while accepting that suffering exists. In that case, the pain-body will gradually lose its energy and vanish.
The most crucial principles of being present are identification and observation. A deep-seated sensation of absence or incompleteness, of not being entire, pervades the psyche. Sometimes it can be intentional, and other times it's unintentional.
You cannot truly be at peace while your mind is running your life if you do not realize that the work you do, your looks, social status, belief systems, and other collective identifiers are not who you are.
Moving Deeply into the Now
On the level of the intellect, there is no way to address the situation. The ego's requirements are limitless. It is fearful and hungry because it feels vulnerable and intimidating. You may walk out of unconsciousness once you realize the basis of it as identification with the mind. You become aware of your surroundings.
You will halt time if you eliminate the misconception of time – unless you choose to utilize it. Time is a figment of the imagination, and the present moment is the most valuable commodity on the planet.
Outside of the Now, nothing occurs. You know of the past as a former Now, and what you think of as the future is an envisioned Now a mental projection. Past and future have no independent existence; theirs is "borrowed" from the Now.
Break free from the old patterns of present-moment denial and resistance. Make it a habit to turn your focus away from the past and future when needed. In ordinary life, as much as possible, enter the Now immediately. As the mind's watchdog, be present. Keep track of how much time you spend thinking about the past or the future.
All negativity stems from a refusal to acknowledge the current moment.
Too much future and not enough present causes unease, uneasiness, pressure, stress, and dread - all sorts of fear.
Too much past and not enough present causes guilt, regret, anger, and frustrations. The answer to freedom is presence.
Make full use of your senses. Be present in your surroundings. Take a look around. Be conscious of each thing's quiet existence. Pay attention to the noises. Feel and recognize the Being of something by touching it. Immerse yourself in the present moment, and you will be successful.
Mind Strategies for Avoiding the Now
If you can't be present in everyday settings, like sitting by yourself in a room, you can't stay alert when anything "goes wrong." It's critical to bring more consciousness into your life in everyday situations to increase your present strength.
Make personal observation a habit to keep track of your mental-emotional condition. "Do I feel at peace right now?"" is an excellent issue to ponder. Examine yourself from within. Pay close attention to your body. Your ability to observe yourself will improve with practice.
You turn the present moment into an enemy if you oppose what is. You are causing misery in your inner self and the collective human psyche, which you are inextricably linked to. Drop the negativity that your mind has concocted for no other reason than to reinforce a false sense of self.
Be completely present wherever you are. Normal unconsciousness is inextricably tied to the rejection of the present moment. Are you fighting the fact that you're in the present moment?
If your current circumstance makes you miserable, you have three options:
- leave it alone,
- alter it, or
- accept it completely.
Take charge of your own destiny.
There's nothing wrong with attempting to better your circumstances. You can make your position better, but you can't make your life better. Your innermost inner Being is life.
The State of Presence
Being aware of one's presence is the same as being aware of one's own presence. You are free of thinking as long as you are in a condition of the deep present.
It helps to be thoroughly anchored inside oneself to stay present in everyday life; otherwise, the mind will draw you along like a wild river. You'll stay present if you're conscious of your body.
Everything that exists has a sense of being, a sense of God's essence, and a sense of consciousness. Everything in this world is alive. Consciousness is awakened through you. This is what we term pure or awakened awareness or presence when this happens.
It can assist in the search for a master. If you're drawn to a wise instructor, it's because you already have enough presence in you to recognize it in others.
Use the master's presence to reflect your own personality back to you and to become more deeply absorbed in yourself.
The Inner Body
The body serves as a portal into the world of Being. Your body is a protective casing, a distorted and restricted representation of a larger reality.
This deeper reality can be perceived as the invisible inner body within you in your natural state of connectivity with Being. It's only the start of an inside journey that will lead you to a place of calm and tranquility.
You are not in your body when your mind consumes all of your attention. The mind absorbs and alters all of your consciousness. You must recover consciousness from the mind to become aware of Being. You may achieve this by diverting your attention away from your thoughts and onto your body.
Feel it from the inside out. Feel the energy flowing through your hands, arms, legs, and feet. Don't even consider it. It's palpable. The invisible inner body, the gateway into Being, resides beneath your physical body. You are eternally one with God through the inner body.
Portals into the Unmanifested
The Unmanifested is a place of great serenity and quiet, as well as joy and tremendous vitality.
The Unmanifested is the wellspring of chi, your body's inner energy field. Each night, as you go into a profound, dreamless slumber, you make a voyage into the Unmanifested. When you return to the realm of separate forms, you unite with the Source and absorb the energy that will sustain you.
You will be emancipated if you use your inner body as a doorway to visit the Unmanifested. Connecting to the Now, establishing a pause in the never-ending stream of thinking, and surrendering are some of the other gates.
The final portal is death with awareness. Many people refer to this as "radiant light." If your energy is powerful enough, you can use this as a gateway into the Unmanifested.
Enlightened Relationships
In a relationship, salvation does not come via love. "When I gain this or am free of that, I'll be fine," many believe. But there is nothing you can accomplish or achieve that will bring you closer to salvation than you are right now. True salvation can be found right now.
Every partnership has flaws. We become hooked to our lover when we become "in love." We believe that to be whole, we must be with them. Addictions are the result of an unconscious inability to confront and get past your own grief. Relationships will bring out the sadness and misery that already exists within you once the bliss has faded.
You may utilize your relationship as a spiritual exercise now that you know this. What was previously hidden is now being revealed.
Suppose you accept that the connection exists to make you awake rather than joyful. In that case, you may utilize it to align yourself with the higher consciousness that wants to enter this planet. You can have enlightened connections if you enter the Now. You must stop identifying with the pain-body and bring presence forward for love to grow.
Beyond Happiness and Unhappiness, There Is Peace
The distinction between happiness and inner peace? Happiness is contingent on favorable circumstances, but inner peace is not.
Conditions are neither favorable nor bad when seen from a higher viewpoint. They're the way they're supposed to be.
There is no longer any "good" or "bad" in your life when you fully accept what is. The majority of "bad" things occur as a result of unconsciousness. They are the result of their own efforts. All drama in your life comes to an end when you live in acceptance of what is.
The Buddha taught that happiness and suffering are inextricably linked. The only thing that divides them is the illusion of time. Nothing can bring you happiness. Like the delight of Being, joy emanates from within.
Things and conditions can only bring you joy, which is ephemeral. You must shut yourself off from the rest of the world.
The Meaning of Surrender
Surrender may have a negative meaning for certain individuals, indicating defeat, giving up, or failing.
True surrender, on the other hand, is another story. It does not imply that you should accept any position you find yourself in. Surrendering is going with the flow of life rather than fighting it. Taking the current moment unreservedly and without reservation is what it means to surrender.
Accept everything and let go of your opposition. Acceptance of what is frees you from mind identification and reconnects you with Being right away. Begin by accepting that opposition exists. Examine how your mind develops it and the mental process that goes into it.
Witnessing the resistance will show you that it is pointless. The unconscious resistance is made conscious by concentrating your attention on the Now. And that's the last of it.
If you are unable to surrender, take urgent action. Speak up or take action to improve the situation. Take charge of your own destiny. If you are unable to act, you are left with two options: resistance or surrender. Surrender does not change what already exists. It alters you, and your entire universe is transformed as a result.
The past loses its power when you yield to what is and become truly present. The trick is to be present. The trick is to live in the present moment.
.jpg)
.png){kind=small}
