Eckhart is clever in his pursuit to reduce human suffering

[VeganAwake]

He clearly understands the human condition and the mechanisms that create suffering and has the ability to communicate and market his message in a simplified way so it's easily understood by a large scale of the general population.

Him and his team understand that if he gets too radical in his teachings, he could potentially scare off a lot of followers and miss the opportunity to help them in the long run.

 

 

[No Self]

Yes, his market is very much mainstream even though at times he covers advanced topics. He could serve as a solution for middle-aged nobodies trying to feel less miserable, a gateway to hardcore spirituality or a complete one-stop shop for enlightenment all by himself.

[Moksha]

I ? Eckhart. When I first picked up The Power of Now, I dismissed it as new age drivel, and put it back on my shelf. Years later, after more living and suffering, I picked it up again and found solace. After yet more years of living and suffering, I finally directly realized what he taught. The teachings never changed, but the student did.

The best teachers are the most simple. Eckhart is laser focused on his core message, which some find to be boring. His purpose isn't to entertain. He understands that metaphysics only appeal to the mind. Jesus and the Buddha were similarly focused. I enjoy metaphysics as much as anyone, but these are the true masters, and their simplicity is their strength.

[saif2]

he can show that there is more to life, but his teaching seems difficult to apply in daily life. 

also there is the idea of distribution of esoteric knowledge any thoughts about this? i have always been facinated with this idea.

 

[VeganAwake]

Yes In the case of not understanding different communications what helped here was just sticking with it and being patient... eventually things start clicking.

 

 

 

 

[Salvijus]

Echkart Tolle's super ordinary outlook is so deceptive. He never has "I am special" smirk on his face. To the point that many beginner meditators start think better of themselves and more advanced than he is. To be god and remain so ordinary takes very high level of refinenment and purification of the mind.

"My sober state of consciousness is more pleasent then lsd state, that's why I don't do psychedelics, they only bring me down" ~ Eckhart Tolle 

Personaly I've meditated for 5+ years and I listen to Echkart every day. I always learn something new from him. And the funny thing is - being present is the highest and fastest way to self-realization. But people think it's for newbies... I laugh at this very often nowadays

?

 

 

[Carl-Richard]

How do you know this? What if he is just basic? 

[StudentOfLeove]

Eckhart Tolle is the reallife Yoda. 

"Present to the moment you must be"

[Lyubov]

He's a great guy and an almost modern day rite of passage for western seekers. He puts out great content for newbies and even good fundamentals for anyone to touch up on. 

Edited January 2, 2021 by Lyubov

[Salvijus]

6 hours ago, Carl-Richard said:

How do you know this? What if he is just basic? 

Being present sounds basic when you compare it with other esoteric stuff out there. But all the spiritual disciplines that are there, if they are focused on self-realization, then it will lead to a state of presence. Because self-realization is not anything other than a state of presence. Just the intensity may vary. At first a state of presence seem like something you pay attention to. Then as you keep paying attention to it, it intensifies more and more. When it becomes very intense you realize that presence is not something you pay attention to it's something that exists irrespective whether you pay attention or not, that it is effortless, it's absolute, it's infinite and it alone is real and you're that. That's self-realization. 

All the different spiritual disciplines that are out there in the world are trying to enter this state of intense presence. It could be mantra, tantra, complex breath holding, impossible body postures, whatever it is, all that is to come to a state of intense presence where things become One.

People think staying present is for beginners and standing on your head for long hours is for advanced ascetics. But it's the other way around. All the techniques are only neseccary until you a capable of simply Being. In fact, all the complex techniques are just a prepartion for those who are not able to simply Be Present. So by definition conscious non-doing is for advanced meditators and everything else is just a preparation to get you to that state. In truth, Being is not a technique even. It's so metta that it trancends all techniques. 

Really, being one with your own essence is higher than if you can levitate and fly around the earth or split the ocean into half or do some other miracle  Yes it is so. Self-realization has a much higher value than all the miracles and meditations like conscious non-doing, being aware of awareness, being present takes you there in the fastest way. Zen and advaita are the fastest most direct paths to it. And Echkart Tolle is a teacher of them both 

P.S. I'm not against any path, I like them all 

Stay Blessed ?

Edited January 2, 2021 by Salvijus

[mandyjw]

18 hours ago, Moksha said:

I ? Eckhart. When I first picked up The Power of Now, I dismissed it as new age drivel, and put it back on my shelf. Years later, after more living and suffering, I picked it up again and found solace.

My first introduction was seeing my dad watch an Eckhart video. I was so infuriated by him just sitting there on stage saying nothing that I yelled at my dad for watching such garbage. 7 years later I had a subscription to Eckhart Now and listened to his videos for hours weekly. 

[Moksha]

1 hour ago, mandyjw said:

My first introduction was seeing my dad watch an Eckhart video. I was so infuriated by him just sitting there on stage saying nothing that I yelled at my dad for watching such garbage. 7 years later I had a subscription to Eckhart Now and listened to his videos for hours weekly. 

Eckhart likes to joke that they don't make quality mirrors any more, the way they used to. Maybe the opposite is true for our spiritual mirrors 

[Danioover9000]

   While I do like Eckart, I do think that his teaching sort of sucks, because I'd have to go down a very similar road he traveled in order to have enlightenment occur, like thinking and being depressed and suicidal, and living in higher states of suffering. Do I want to think and be suicidal, just to increase the probability for enlightenment to occur HERE? It sure isn't appealing to me, which is why I've exited out of eckart's bubble to investigate other spiritual teacher's bubbles.

[Nahm]

I remember years ago reading Stillness Speaks, and then seeing him talk on Oprah, and just being in awe. 

[BlackMaze]

@Danioover9000 why do you believe that this should be the case? He never said in his books be suicidal first and then maybe you'll awaken. He says just the opposite, that this is possible for everyone right now. But it seems that some people expect a long journey and this is what they get. I don't think that what Eckhart teaches is the ultimate state one can reach but this changes everything. Some people i don't know don't find him fancy enough. But the new earth really exposes your ego just by reading it. It is possible to reach a state that you don't need to sit down and meditate because you meditate naturally all the time just because you are not getting distracted from ego anymore. Of course some work is needed to reach this state and to maintain it. And the work is to stay present by following the numerous techniques he mentions, to do that. 

[Danioover9000]

@BlackMaze

15 hours ago, BlackMaze said:

@Danioover9000 why do you believe that this should be the case? He never said in his books be suicidal first and then maybe you'll awaken. He says just the opposite, that this is possible for everyone right now. But it seems that some people expect a long journey and this is what they get. I don't think that what Eckhart teaches is the ultimate state one can reach but this changes everything. Some people i don't know don't find him fancy enough. But the new earth really exposes your ego just by reading it. It is possible to reach a state that you don't need to sit down and meditate because you meditate naturally all the time just because you are not getting distracted from ego anymore. Of course some work is needed to reach this state and to maintain it. And the work is to stay present by following the numerous techniques he mentions, to do that. 

   He became enlightened by being suicidal and depressed. As a teaching, some people can't follow that, and some can see past his marketing right away.

   It's silly to think you can be enlightened now, it's like a child saying 'I'm a grandpa to my children who have their kids now!'. It's a journey that has paths that go up and down and in between.

[BlackMaze]

1 hour ago, Danioover9000 said:

@BlackMaze

   He became enlightened by being suicidal and depressed. As a teaching, some people can't follow that, and some can see past his marketing right away.

   It's silly to think you can be enlightened now, it's like a child saying 'I'm a grandpa to my children who have their kids now!'. It's a journey that has paths that go up and down and in between.

@Danioover9000 it's not about being suicidal or about marketing. His books are great tools if you actually read them and apply them without judging them. 

It' s also silly to think that you can be enlightened later because now is the only time that exists. His books guide you to this realization. 

Have you read the new earth? If yes what is your opinion about the book? This book is powerful don't underestimate it, also very practical. 

[mandyjw]

1 hour ago, Danioover9000 said:

@BlackMaze

   He became enlightened by being suicidal and depressed. As a teaching, some people can't follow that, and some can see past his marketing right away.

There's no cause and effect. Enlightenment is beyond cause and effect. Even within the realm of story of cause and effect, beautiful things come out of suffering, like for example inspired books that lead people to the same realizations without the intense suffering part. 

[Danioover9000]

@BlackMaze

4 hours ago, BlackMaze said:

@Danioover9000 it's not about being suicidal or about marketing. His books are great tools if you actually read them and apply them without judging them. 

It' s also silly to think that you can be enlightened later because now is the only time that exists. His books guide you to this realization. 

Have you read the new earth? If yes what is your opinion about the book? This book is powerful don't underestimate it, also very practical. 

   My opinion of the book is that it's sugar coating what it really means to be enlightened. No amount of sugar coating is gonna get you to truth. People who say enlightenment is now, either have had years of spiritual practice, got fed up, quit, and seek comfort in telling others and themselves they have enlightened, or or the very few who have had enlightenment occur to them, multiple times, after decades of spiritual work.

   Otherwise, how can a person, little to no experience of enlightenment, start the spiritual journey? One way is to listen and follow in the footsteps of a spiritual master, which Eckart Tolle is not one, but a person that due to him being depressed and suicidal, had enlightenment occur. So the spiritually clueless person, not knowing any better, follows  and tries to copy Eckart's conditions that allowed him to have enlightenment occur for him. I don't have to elaborate on the many risks of blindly following a spiritual teacher's exact circumstances, thinking it might help to have enlightenment magically occur like that.

[Danioover9000]

@mandyjw

3 hours ago, mandyjw said:

There's no cause and effect. Enlightenment is beyond cause and effect. Even within the realm of story of cause and effect, beautiful things come out of suffering, like for example inspired books that lead people to the same realizations without the intense suffering part. 

   And some can't handle that level of suffering, thinking it might really help them to have enlightenment magically occur to them, when being more depressed and suicidal might put them more at risk.