My daughter and I were discussing today what we’re each experiencing from the teachings of Eckhart Tolle in his book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose (Oprah’s Book Club, Selection 61)(Paperback). What’s interesting is that I’ve heard these terms all before – ego, connecting, being one with Spirit, awareness – but in hearing these terms now it has a deeper meaning as if revealing itself for the first time. I don’t know why. Maybe, it’s in how it’s presented or maybe I’ve evolved enough now to allow myself to hear it.
Here are some highlighted points we talked about that seem pretty profound to me when I think about it. They are not conclusive but maybe they will give you something to discuss and also think about:
1. Being connected to Source means it will live through you. What you don’t need will fall away and what you need will appear through you. When I awaken in myself then opportunities will happen and arrive for me. We are then connected on the level of Spirit – not on ego.
2. You can’t become connected through your brain; it’s a connection from the heart. My daughter says, “The feeling is not with your brain, it’s in your chest area.” “It’s a warm feeling of connectiveness.” Likewise, your observation is not coming from the head either; it’s coming from that feeling of connection in the chest or heart.
3. You can’t separate thought with thought. It comes from awareness from a feeling. If you become aware with a thought (recognition) this is ego. Awareness goes down in the chest with a feeling that’s warm and connected. That is the part that observes.
4. There is a primary purpose (inner purpose) and a secondary purpose (outer purpose). To bring conscious awareness to the human body and this experience by being concerned only with outer purpose you cut yourself off from Source. It’s like you’re going through the process of living as if you’re driving with the power steering out on your car. Everything is much more difficult. You’re making choices with your head and not your heart. When you tap into that Source and inner purpose, you find yourself in a zone with more energy and power than you could ever imagine. When connected to the inner purpose, the outer purpose just happens.
5. Becoming consciously aware can elevate and heighten relationships. We think what others do affects us so we keep saying and doing things to change them only engaging more in the ego. All of us are one and connected on a spiritual level and that will never change. We are all safe in Spirit no matter how insane the world is and what people are doing. We begin to understand that all of us are on our own path on the physical level and this is where we see the separation. Awareness allows us to understand where we have been operating in acting out this insaneness. We can then feel compassion instead of reacting to the things being said and done and it brings life into relationships.
6. Most everyone is trapped in their head and letting their thoughts run their life. As long as I’m awakening and connected, I sense the protection in the present moment – in a positive energy space. We make choices independently of one another and they’re powerful choices when connected to Source.
7. What you experience in everyday life is relatively real. It depends on our perspective, such as a sunset. From our perspective every evening the sun sets but if you were out in space you would see that the sun doesn’t set, it’s always shining. We can’t decide how things will happen for you or for me. It’s all relative as we have a limited perspective. If we are aware of our connection to the Source, things just happen naturally without pain and letting go as we concentrate on the awakening in ourselves.
We all have a choice as to how we want to live our lives. We can choose to continue to live reacting on everything that happens in our lives to what people say and what they do – being part of the drama and victimized. Or, we can flow with the natural order of Source energy and awaken to the essence of who we truly are that is within all of us. In that, there is no struggle or fight and we realize the impossible is now possible.
From the kitchen table – Pat
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Pat,
With all the talk of Eckhart Tolle and Oprah, you might be interested in a different perspective on the same subject. Avoiding the Folly of Modern Pseudo Advaita Teachers may seem somewhat “judgemental”, but it is educational.
I liked your posting, by the way.
ReddyK – thank you for your comment and for pointing me in the direction of your post. I read with interest as it has a different perspective. Even though the Bhagavad Gita is severe in its warning, I believe there are similarities in that they are saying the same things with regard to demonic nature and what I’m learning about the ego. It’s serious stuff.
Thank you again for stopping by. I stumbled your post.