Spiritual Teacher: Eckhart Tolle

An Introduction to Eckhart Tolle

Eckhart Tolle is one of the world’s greatest living spiritual teachers. He is able to explain complex spiritual concepts in a way that is easy to understand and his teachings have inspired millions of people worldwide to live more present and peaceful lives. A German national now based in Canada, Eckhart grew up in Germany and Spain. After a difficult childhood and early adulthood, he experienced a profound spiritual awakening when he was 29 where he realised in an instant that he was separate to his thoughts. This led him to dedicate his life to the study and teaching of spirituality and the nature of consciousness. A best-selling author, his books “The Power of Now” and “A New Earth” have sold millions of copies and have been translated into over 50 languages.

Image credit: eckharttolle.com

Favourite Eckhart Tolle Teachings

Eckhart teaches us that we are not our thoughts but the observer of our thoughts.

He explains that most of us are trapped in an inner monologue of continuous thought that never ceases, constantly commenting on our lives and reliving the past or projecting into the future.

He teaches us that there is a separate Self, that which observes this constant mental chatter, and that this Self is our real selves, our awareness or consciousness.

If we can drop out of the continual bombardment of thought, using our five senses to anchor ourselves in the present moment, we can experience true peace and presence, a welcome relief from the never ending hamster wheel of thought (98% of our thoughts are repeated).

The first time you experience truly being present is incredible – a real sense of “awakening”. The more you practise being present, noticing when you become lost in thoughts and anchoring into the present moment, the easier it becomes until you realise that you are mostly present. The times when you are lost in thought become less and less frequent.

We still need to use our thoughts, it is a vital tool in our human toolkit – to assess, to plan, to make our lives full and successful, but Eckhart teaches us that we should use it as exactly that – a tool, rather than being solely at its mercy.

Eckhart also teaches about the Ego, how powerful it is and how we need to learn to control it – and describes our “pain body”, that emotional side of us that can rear its ugly head in moments of anger, fear or stress, transforming us away from our true selves into a reactive, unbalanced, irrational version of ourselves.

Key Eckhart Tolle Takeaways

Acceptance of whatever we are experiencing, whether it be good or bad, is the key to happiness.

There is no past or future, only now. Staying in the ‘now’ is to truly experience life.

To realise that we are not our thoughts, but the observer or awareness of our thoughts. He describes our thoughts as a very chatty room mate who lives with us inside our heads.

That we are “human beings” not “human doings”

A useful tool to come back to the present moment is to stop labelling everything we see. For example, when out walking, instead of mentally naming things we see – “tree”, “sky”, “house” etc, you just observe as if you were an alien landing on earth for the first time. Look at the shapes, the colours, the silhouette of the tree, the intricacy of the bark, the multitude of leaves. By using our senses and really noticing what is around us we can immediately quiet the brain and anchor in the present moment.

To understand that when we are dealing with someone’s pain body it is not actually them (their true authentic self) we are interacting with, just their pain body. A pain body being the emotions and feelings trapped inside the subconscious from childhood / past experiences. This helps give perspective on how we can hardly recognise ourselves/ people we know and love when we are in a negative emotional state – all we see is the anger and fear of the “pain body” that has taken hold of them. Waiting for the pain body to recede and then addressing the trigger is more effective than trying to reason with the pain body which is illogical and unreasonable.

Where to Begin with Eckhart Tolle

We recommend starting with listening to this talk given by Eckhart: Living a Life of Inner Peace. It isn’t free (it costs about $10/ £8) but relatively inexpensive and a worthwhile investment as in two hours you can “awaken”.

This is the description of the talk given on Eckhart’s website. ‘A recording of one of Eckhart’s most moving, transformative talks. The talk is relaxed and funny; Eckhart conveys his message through stories and insightful observation and makes us laugh at ourselves, while at the same time helping us break through habitual thinking to discover the eternal presence of the Now. When you listen, you discover that something deeper is happening beyond the words being spoken. A field of alert stillness arises where before there was mental noise. You find yourself in what Eckhart calls a state of presence—and it can lead to a dramatic transformation in the way you live your life. For those new to Eckhart’s teachings, this is an ideal introduction. For those familiar with his work, be prepared for something fresh and extraordinary.’

This was how Georgie first discovered Eckhart Tolle, having been recommended it by her acupuncturist (Jonathan Orchard). It is a perfect introduction to Eckhart’s teachings, as the description says, and for Georgie it was the lightbulb moment where she first experienced being fully present. She then passed it on to Sophie and everyone she knew. We also recommend trying to see Eckhart live and in person if ever possible. We were lucky enough to hear him speak at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It was an unforgettable experience. Being in the same physical space as someone so present is a phenomenon. He spoke with profound wisdom without any notes or prompts. His wife, Kim Eng, did a guided mediation with us at the end which was 30 mins long but felt like 2-3 minutes as the whole auditorium became present.