Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings

In this episode Eckhart answers questions on various topics including the difference between a creative impulse and the ego. A woman asks Eckhart about his decision to move from England to the Pacific Northwest. Eckhart says when the call continued for quite some time without dissipating, he knew he had to follow it. Eckhart urges everyone to stay connected to their deepest awareness especially when life’s challenges arise, and things don’t go our way. Eckhart explains why instead of reacting with irritation, anger and fear towards a situation, we should instead surrender. He says obstacles are not enemies, they’re here to help us awaken.

In this podcast Eckhart gives a brief talk on his signature teaching: the power of presence and then answers questions from the audience. He says the important thing to understand is the presence that inhabits our bodies is not something that is external to us, it is the essence of us. He says the secret and the mystery of the present moment is that we are the present moment.

In this podcast Eckhart answers questions from a live audience, including one about how suffering can lead to awakening. Eckhart says we need challenges in order to evolve. The great paradox is we are liberated when we surrender to life’s difficulties. Eckhart says eventually we can become grateful for our suffering because it pushes us to become who we are.

In this episode Eckhart talks about the need for challenges. He says without them we would not grow in awareness. Eckhart explains the entire universe is evolving towards greater consciousness. He says beyond our individual lives, we are connected to something vital and vast. In our highest form, Eckhart believes we are the consciousness of the universe expressing itself.

In this podcast Eckhart discusses how we define our personal identity. He says it usually beginswith the physical body, then possessions and achievements. He says we may have a long list ofaccomplishments - even personal wealth, but we’re not satisfied; we’re still not good enough.Eckhart explains defining ourselves in these superficial terms is a trap and just another form ofego. Our true identity is beyond that.

In this episode Eckhart answers questions on a variety of topics, such as: What is the soul? Is it possible to awaken when we are depressed? And how do we sense presence in another? Eckhart says we experience the presence of others when we release our conceptual thinking about them. He says when we let all that go, a space opens and we are free then to experience what is sacred in others and in ourselves.

In this episode Eckhart talks about a collective awakening growing on the planet even while the majority of people remain spiritually asleep. He explains most of us are completely identified with our thoughts - the constant, compulsive stream of thinking that dominates our awareness and creates a very limited identity. He says beyond thoughts is a more profound and truer self which Eckhart calls the Deep I. We begin to awaken when we recognize the difference between the two.

In this podcast Eckhart asks his audience, “What are you certain of?” After some discussion, they conclude very little. He references philosophers throughout history who have said life is a dream and our individual lives fleeting. Eckhart explains there is a deeper consciousness beyond the dream and beyond the person. He says we will experience transcendence when we make the shift from thinking to awareness.

In this episode, Eckhart answers questions on how to deal with death… for ourselves and those we love. Eckhart says it’s critical that we break the taboo so we can overcome our fear.  eckhart proposes  that when faced with the possibility of a very limited future … The ultimate question is not whether or not we will survive. because we all will die eventually. Instead we allow the situation to push us towards higher consciousness. He says it’s possible to transcend our fear to reach a state of deep presence. 

In this podcast Eckhart discusses the path to awakening. He encourages listeners to detach from the mind, instead of being the mind. He says most of us get so enmeshed in our thinking we mistake it for reality. He also believes the mind tells us we need a long list of criteria to advance spiritually. But Eckhart says enlightenment is not something we attain in the future – in truth, fullconsciousness is closer than we think. We can break through our thinking to awaken, right here, right now.