Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings

This episode is a re-release; it originally aired September 29, 2022. In this podcast Eckhart talks with a live audience in Greece. He kicks off the session discussing the spiritual wisdom of ancient Greek philosophers. Among the most renowned was Socrates who humbly said, “I am the only one who knows that he knows nothing.” Eckhart believes Socrates meant that he was comfortable with the state of not knowing and the pure awareness connected to deep insight. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Originally aired May 26, 2022. In this podcast Eckhart talks about our dependence on people, places, things and concepts as the source of our identity. He says most of us derive a sense of self from our attachments. He believes the essence of who we truly are is much deeper. Eckhart calls it the alive stillness at the center of our being. Once we become aware of it, our attachment to external things fades and we discover our true nature. Eckhart illustrates this idea with the story of a Buddhist monk who sought to release worldly things. His difficulties were great, until he let go absolutely. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eckhart answers questions about our identification with the ego and our thoughts. He says the light of consciousness is relentlessly gobbled up by the mind and turned into thinking. He believes practicing presence is the only immunity against our thoughts. He says as we begin to awaken, we have glimpses of awareness. Eckhart says we don’t have to wait for those glimpses to arise spontaneously. He explains that we need to invite them into our lives so that awakened consciousness becomes an integral part of who we are. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eckhart answers questions like… Is it possible to remain in a permanent state of acceptance? And how do we deal with our fears about what others think of us? Eckhart says it’s not realistic to expect that we will be consistently peaceful and harmonious. The challenges of our lives will affect us. but not at the core of who we are. We remain rooted in what Eckhart calls the being dimension. He explains we go beyond the duality of happiness and unhappiness to find peace. Eckhart says the degree to which we are free from the opinions of others, depends on our connectedness to the deeper dimension of who we are. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eckhart talks about our obsession with the future. He says if we’re always living for the future, we never experience the present because the future is only a thought. We spend our time waiting for a life that never arrives and end up with a life full of missed opportunities. Eckhart reminds us, the only moment we ever truly have is the here and now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.