Eckhart Tolle - any fans?

anamcarame wrote: »

I cannot fault TPON. Truly a live changing and awakening book. New Earth was a great follow on for me. I am currently struggling with Practicing The Power Of Now. Maybe I am now meant to read it at the moment. I have started and restarted it 3 times.



"This, too, will pass."
— Eckhart Tolle

to me practising TPON just seemed like excerpts from TPON. It felt like he was cashing in to an extent - it may have been more on the publishers end that he was contracted to write a certain number of books, but I started to read it myself, and just didn't bother with it, because it didn't seem to be anything new.

After reading Tolle's books someone recommended The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche and that was another excellent book. I would say "life changing" but I think TPON had already achieved that, but I think had I read TBOLD then it may have had the same effect. From talking to people who read TBOLD first it did have that effect.

Galway K9 wrote: »

I can understand and respect your point but with ane I find he goes more in debt and focuses more on our emotions and pain body:)

Thanks for recommendation will look at that.

I'd probably agree in that regard, but I just remember TPON having a greater effect on me - it may have to do with the order I read them in (TPON first).

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is a pretty thick book, but it is divided into four sections 1)Living; 2)Dying; 3)Death & Re-birth; 4)Conclusions.

I've only read the first two sections myself, but found them to be very insightful and practical. I'll get around to the other sections at some point.

Galway K9 wrote: »

Your not ready for it yet;) You will be.

Not sure if thats a fair statement, maybe that approach just wasnt for him.

I finished TPON, not bad, he does a fine job at giving an insight into the peace and space between thoughts.
I love his talk on time everlasting presence as well, because time simply doesnt exist , the past and future are only thoughts or illusions.
He needs to get more practical though.
TPON isnt something that should need to be 'practiced'.
Im going to check out Anthony di Mello's Awareness to see the difference in approach.

agreed, I also think he keeps the concept at a safe distance, always keeping it interesting but never getting right to the bottom of it. Whether he does this intentionally or not is another question, I doubt its intentional.

What kind of approach does Anthony di Mello's Awareness take?

What is Tolle teaching though?
Ive read PON, and starting A new Earth, just to see what all the fuss is about, just to figure out why so many people hang on to this guy for the their dear life.
He is certainly not teaching how to permanently remove a belief of self, he is just offering practice techniques so you can temporarily recreate his own experience. He shows people how to practice presence instead of simply telling people that there is no you to even practice it.
Presence comes when you see that you dont exist, not when theres a you trying to practice it.
He is dwelling on his own enlightenment and trying to see that people understand his experiences, not trying to show people how to arrive in real life to that experience. he is too nice, too philosophical , he doesn't punch egos, he actually nurtures them instead of hurting them.
He doesnt know this , hes not a scam artist, hes trying to help, and he is helping people, but he could do it alot more efficiently and effectively by telling them that their self simply does not exist in any shape or form, it never did, and it never will.
But then he'd be out of a job, because he'd be no longer the one that 'knows all', he would be on the same level as the person who saw the same truth as him, that new person would be just as capable of explaining it as he would. That aint nice for the ego.

Hes a millionaire banking on words that were uttered and documented 4000 years ago, no? I went to one of his seminars a year back, didnt buy it. It sounds like a myriad of nonsense that perhaps a trip on LSD could offer? The power of now doesnt necessarily mean ****. What value has the now without basing your desicions on experince (the past), so we refer to the past, hence, in the mind, kinda live there in order to go forward.

guitarzero wrote: »

Hes a millionaire banking on words that were uttered and documented 4000 years ago, no? I went to one of his seminars a year back, didnt buy it. It sounds like a myriad of nonsense that perhaps a trip on LSD could offer?

yes, drugs etc does offer this stuff, its all to do with the brain , whats connecting, whats not etc, BUT, drugs are bad mmmkay? no seriously though, drugs have serious side effects that dont offer that stuff in pure cleanliness and reality, they offer that stuff with a bout of depression, scag, anxiety, bad diet as a side effect.

guitarzero wrote: »

The power of now doesnt necessarily mean ****. What value has the now without basing your desicions on experince (the past), so we refer to the past, hence, in the mind, kinda live there in order to go forward.

well you see the past doesnt actually exist im afraid, only in your head.

Yea your probably reading this stuff saying 'lol what a new age hippy', but I wouldnt be Tolles biggest fan , but I still disagree with you.
Where can you find the future or the past? Where is it? It doesnt actually exist in real life, it should only be used for practical purposes, not worries and apprehensions and stresses.

Hi Starokan, no prob, I sometimes get lost in my own posts and get into deep rants!! lol:D

Hi Tara, the best way I know of (theres probably plenty of ways), of waking up is by concentrating solely on whether a self exists in real life or not. By testing in real life if there is a self needed for you to do anything , think anything.

If you look with genuine focus at this one aspect of spirituality and ignore the rest you should see it.

They all mention it, they all talk about it their videos etc, but they dont hone in on it, Im fairly certain its when a human questions who the thinker behind the thoughts is, is when they wake up to the reality that there is no thinker.

torrentum wrote: »

I used to be a big fan of Tolle; read all his books, downloaded all the audiobooks too. Was inspired and loved his work. I was massively disappointed to hear him speak of dabbling in LSD, not in his younger years, nut recently. I began to reflect more on what he was saying and realised he was recycling bits from other religions and stringing them together to sell for a profit. That's was the end of that. His books went in the bin.

Hes probably more clued in and engaged with reality than people that have never taken drugs or even drank in their life. He is completely passed concepts that humans created.

Im not condoning taking acid, but can you imagine a world never told you acid was bad, that it was legal, and that dabbling in it was ok. Can you imagine in this world, coffee held the taboo that acid does here. Then you'd hate him because he drank some coffee.

I havent taken it btw.

Tolle is passed being held by concepts and ideas and approval, he probably made a judgement that a small dabbling is fine. He probably knows his limits.

Him admitting something like that makes me admire him more. And it confirms to me more that he is truly liberated from the nonsense, and isnt a bull****ter.

Alot of assumptions by me there, but thats just my take.

Flashgordon197 wrote: »

I think a lot of these guys are essentially repeating themselves. I dont think he is a great writer. For a guy who talks about giving up the Ego-he runs a for profit organisation. There is nothing new in his work. Thats something that can be said for most self help books.

Why should ego have anything to do with running a for profit organisation?

And also he says himself he didn't get rid of ego, he just laughs at it

Flashgordon197 wrote: »

I never meant to imply ego or non-ego had anything to do with running a profit making company. Its just he claims we should rise above the trappings of the ego including wealth! Exactly, why does need millions unless he is a slave to his desires? Do you need millions to live in the "now" He is in the same rat race as the rest of us! Took this from another forum but it expresses my feelings on him: (BTW-his ideas are great but his money making shows he is not practising what he really preaches:

I think its very easy misunderstand what people mean by "desires". I can see why it may seem contradictory, but for him, its probably a case that he doesnt care. Hes still a human, hes still going to do well for himself if he has the capability.
That said, if he actually included wealth in his arguments, well then, thats contradictory alright

Here's how you do it:(Make Money the Eckhart Tolle Way:

1) Identify an ancient piece of wisdom that's been around for thousands of years.

2) Give it a new and mysterious name like "The Now"

Dont underestimate the importance and effectiveness of how something is delivered, despite how old the material is.

3) Present a compelling story of personal transformation: from suicidial depression to ULTIMATE BLISS in a flash.... and you can have this too and never feel pain again.

I believe his story, something similar happened me and happens many others too (little depression and less bliss though for me though), not quite as extreme, but not far off, ive no doubt he exaggerated as well (because I know that another time he said he was barely aware it had happened)
He also explained exactly what happened, but failed to hone in on it. He questioned his own sense of self, realized it didnt exist, and hey presto , was free.

4) Neglect to mention you're describing old ideas in a new way.

True, he should have done this.

5) Explain it in words that people can understand and put it in a context that's socially acceptable; away from distasteful religious beliefs.

Nothing wrong with that. The biggest problem is the use of religious associations that throw people off.

6) An attention grabbing, and succinct title "The Power Of Now"

Nothing wrong with that either.

The Exciting Bonus: Once you have established a reputation as a wise guru it's a cash cow. Continue to present the same idea in new ways e.g. "A New Earth", and "Practicing The Power Of Now"

Brilliant.

Agreed, thats just milking it.

It's a good message though, don't get me wrong. Just saying, it's a funny old world, and nowhere more so than the field of info marketing.

Ive a feeling you expect a certain behavior from someone who has been through his experience and because that behavior doesn't match up to the expectations, it feels to you that he is a fraud.

Truth is , he got himself out of his own ****, he cant seem to be able to deliver a clear way of getting people through the sudden shift he got through. But he thinks he has a way of helping people to get there another way.

I dont doubt that he believes in what hes saying. Personally I just wish he would concentrate more on no self. Because for some, seeing no self is huge, for others , not so much, but the fact is, the practice of challenging your belief in self is the most effective method ive come across for getting you quite far. And even Tolle is proof of that. (Didnt he say "how can I live with myself? Is there 2 mes?")

Red21 wrote: »

On these points in relation to the metaphysics of Tolles teaching.

*we along with the rest of the universe are a consciousness/being/god trying to experience itself.

*everything that exists possess some level of this consciousness/being/god as it was this consciousness that brought matter and space into being in the first place.

*Everyone can access/realise this all pervading consciousness/being/god as it is in everything including themselves.

*gaining access to this consciousness/being/god is the very purpose of our existance.

I'm aware that the message that Tolle is trying to convey is difficult to conceptualize so other spiritual teachers may use differant words to say the same thing, also that Tolle has many other things to say in his books but i'm just trying to get an idea if people(fans of E.T) agree or disagree with these as the basic premise of Tolles writtings in relation to Whats it all about/the reality of our situation type questions.
Are these the core beliefs people who consider themselves spiritual believe or is this just a specific view point of spirituality?
Outside of the broad area the word spirituality covers, is there another word or term used to describe this way of looking at life?

I think what happens is that the word God becomes completely lost in meaning, hence the confusion.

I used hold a huge snobbery over the world of spirituality because of some of the language used including the word God.

Then I realised people into spirituality are actually attempting to engage in reality and the world around them more than I ever was in the past.

To answer your question, I think the core beliefs of spirituality vary so wildly that the answer would be different from person to person. That may sound vague but it's true.
People on this "scene" argue with each other about this stuff as much as any other "scen"


To answer your last question, I put the emphasis on no self (as do loads of people but I think the emphasis on it is FAR more important initially than its given credit for).

What happens is "insights" occur, "I am everything", "everything is God" etc. But I think having the honesty not to proclaim you know some truth just because you feel something, is actually quite important. Because really, once you go down that road it starts to sound airy fairy and weird to most people.
Keep it simple imo.