Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings

In this podcast, Eckhart talks with an audience in Adelaide, Australia. He says participating in the retreat will allow everyone to have a taste of presence, rather than know it as a mere concept.  He explains that many of us place little value on the current moment because we believe fulfillment can only happen at some point in the distant future. He says the anticipation of things-yet-to-be is so strong, we miss opportunities in the here and now because the thinking mind takes over and muddies the water. Eckhart shares an experience he had at the age of seventeen, whe...

In this episode, Eckhart explains that many of us must go through a lot of unhappiness before we awaken. He says he’s never met anyone whose life is not difficult and fraught with challenges. He believes it’s a good thing when we become dissatisfied with what we call “my life.” He says our spiritual growth often begins when we realize there must be something morebecause our suffering pushes us to find it. He goes on to explain that our real life is actually in the here and now separate from the past and the future which is eternal and...

In this episode, Eckhart talks about the fact that many people live in a continuous state of waiting for the next thing that will magically transform their lives: a relationship, job, house, even more money. He says we’re misguided when we believe something outside ourselves will provide lasting fulfillment; this mindset is considered normal. But Eckhart says normal won’t free us from our inner turmoil. He says even during the best of times, we feel something important is missing from our lives. Eckhart explains when we’re continuously doing - waiting for the next thing - we become forg...

In this podcast Eckhart talks about bringing together the human and the being aspects of ourselves. He says we would be consigned to a miserable fate if all we were was human because being trapped by a limited identity there would be no possibility of self-transcendence. Eckhart points out even big egos have little selves and their achievements, even if considerable, often make people so unhappy, they don’t help transform the world. Eckhart explains when the human and the being come together, the being shines through our humanness, reflecting the light of consciousness. He says the greatest miracle of all is that...

In this episode, Eckhart describes the subtleties of what happens when we become present. He says the mind slows down, thinking recedes, awareness rushes in and our preoccupation with the past and future fades. He explains that some people are so obsessed by their history, it consumes their current life. Eckhart says the mind is a wonderful instrument if used in the right way, if not destruction often follows. Eckhart says most of us do not use the mind; it uses us and eventually, we believe we are the mind. He describes this as a disease and a delusion. Eckhar...

In this podcast, Eckhart talks about the importance of connecting with what he calls unconditioned consciousness. He says it’s the source of all creativity and true intelligence. Eckhart explains when we’re in this place, mental noise stops and thinking recedes and what remains is aware stillness. He says that is the beginning of awakening. He explains we may sustain this state for a while and then lose it again. For him, it’s part of the process. He encourages everyone to keep a foot in both worlds: the everyday and the transcendent because then greater intelligence flows through us...

In this episode, Eckhart explains what it means to be unconscious. He says we all have inner scripts which are old dysfunctional patterns handed down generation after generation eventually crystallizing into our identity. Eckhart explains until we wake up to that, we remain largely unconscious. Eckhart says we don’t have to remain hostage to our hard wiring because we can resist our thinking and stop mistaking it for the truth. Eckhart says every human being is like a seed waiting to awaken because the potential may be buried under layers of ego. He says we find answers to th...

In this episode, Eckhart talks with an audience in Brisbane, Australia. He explains the reason for their gathering is to accelerate their awakening. He says everything we experience occurs in the Now and it will never not be Now. But he says most people don’t realize that because their attention is elsewhere absorbed by the past or future. He explains we believe we are a product of our history, childhood and family background. Eckhart says we are more than that and the difficulties we encounter can be the catalyst to awaken now. He says had he not gone th...

In this podcast, Eckhart inspires a crowd in New York City. He talks about the importance of rooting ourselves in the transcendent dimension especially when we feel overwhelmed by the insanity of the world. He explains it’s easy to believe that we are a species who lost its way - just watch the evening news. He says most people’s attention is consumed by thinking. He says they may gaze at you, but they don’t really see you. He believes once we release the mind’s constraints, our awareness becomes clear like precious stones transparent to the light. ...

In this episode Eckhart talks to an audience in New York City.  He reminds them of life’s fleeting nature and that in eighty or ninety years the names of the people lit up by the bright lights of Broadway will be gone. Success, fame and fortune do not provide immunity from what Eckhart calls the burden of self… the identity we fabricate from our problems…including health, careers, finances and relationships. Eckhart explains that the greatest source of suffering is not just created by the mind…but by our unobserved thoughts. They drift in and out of our awareness...