Eckhart Tolle quotes

124 posts

Pain! No, Thank You! I Have My Own

Pain has many faces. Physical discomfort, mental conditioning and behavior are examples of this suffering. So, let’s consider the discomfort that originates from these mindset traits. The pain body, as Eckhart Tolle describes it, is a menacing entity. And, is always lurking in the mental shadows of the mind during our interactions.

pain

So, this mind affliction accompanies the majority of people each day. Similarly, what happens to this mind torment when two or more people meet? Almost every person has some level of mind discomfort. Likewise, a few people are aware of this torture, most are not. This suffering is a personal and collective accumulation of experiences, conditioned behavior, and reactions.

Ask yourself this question? Is my conscious awakening deeply rooted in daily experiences? The majority of people are still not consciously awake. This gives any type of mental activity a chance to overtake a person’s conscious state of being. Therefore, two consciously unaware people add even more suffering to a given experience. And so, on and so forth.

I recall many such encounters when I was younger. In hindsight, I realize that my lack of present moment awareness caused ongoing agony. Myself and any given person often experienced unneeded suffering due to the lack of aware presence. Thus, we literally absorbed each other’s mental energy. This, in turn, acted as a catalyst for the inner pain body energy. Continue reading →

Story-writer Tell Me Another Story

A story-writer stares you back each day when you look in the mirror. This person has the mental capacity to write story after story, moment to moment and day by day. However, please understand that the mind writes these stories. There are mental bookcases upon bookcases within the mind. The Library of Congress currently has 170 million books. But, compare this to the vast stories within the mind and it is like a water drop in a bucket.

And, please note that firstly these stories and mental books belong exclusively to you. At least, this is what the mind tells you. There are many characters, both good and bad in your stories. Additionally, there are vast selections of story genres; drama, adventure, and horror, to name a few. And the mind, as the story-writer, has an exclusive copyright. This enormous collection of personal and collective stories belongs to you. Wow, that is marvelous. Or is it?

story-writer

The brain is an incredible body organ that can process huge amounts of information simultaneously. This is fine, when considering it strictly from the level of brain data processing. But what about beyond our mental and physical field of existence? Simply said. What about our conscious state of being? What happens to our conscious awareness during the mind’s storytelling? Well, mental energy blocks out the spaciousness of consciously living. The mind constantly reviews, redefines, and retells these mental stories. On the other hand, conscious universal life energy is always available. So, why don’t we live life consciously? Mostly, because the countless drama and never-ending mind stories overshadow our life experience. Continue reading →

Jump the Gun but Why Try to Run from Now?

Jump the gun is an idiom and probably known worldwide. Originally, known as beat the gun in track and field competitions. This quote has a spiritual significance for us to consider. The now is constant. It may be the only true constant in the universe. This moment is an expression of presence. Now is Undeniable. So how does the idiom help us to understand the isness of now?

jump

This is the internet definition for Jump the Gun.

informal:
Act before the proper time.

Synonyms: act prematurely, act too soon, be too/overly hasty, be precipitate, be rash

informal:
Be ahead of oneself.

Here we see the usefulness of this phrase in conscious awakening. The two explanations of Jump the Gun offer an open passage to our relationship with the now. This is a sign post that points toward enlightenment. What is enlightenment? We can say that enlightenment is awareness that offers change. Lao Tzu shares the following insight about awareness. Continue reading →

A Conditioned Mind Sways from Place to Place

There is one love, one consciousness, and one state of being. Humans, animals, plants, and the entire universe are a part of this oneness. We need one another to share, grow, and mature in our experiences of love, unity, and life. We consider that the two parts of duality as necessary to balance the universal scale. But this type of conditioned thinking may be nothing more than another mind game.

conditioned

I do not wish to suggest that such a thing as feminine/masculine or yin/yang do not exist, but rather I would like to ask why these exist. We have actually defined energy as having male and female characteristics. Again, my wish is not to deny established concepts. But, I do question how and why we always interpret and define such things. The slow process of conditioned behavior and reactions has been ongoing throughout our species’ development. This has resulted from our unawareness to the unbounded and unmanifested space within each moment. This is where life energy is always present, and object consciousness has a much stronger influence on universal consciousness than most people realize. Continue reading →

Forgiveness and Love on the Path of Life

Many people assume love comes from a source greater than ourselves. We created love and we are responsible for how we experience love. But, this is difficult for the mind to accept. Love, as with consciousness, is energy. But, we often misinterpret the origin and depth of love because the mind demands explanations. However, the flow of love—and life energy, for that matter—originates in you. Forgiveness is a helpful stepping stone on the path of true self-discovery. Why? Because misinterpretations of love often cause suffering. Furthermore, you see yourself as a pawn and victim of love. But, universally speaking, we can purify love and life through the simple act of consciously living.

forgiveness

Yes, I am suggesting that each person is essentially the source of universal energy. Hence, this energy becomes conscious and learns to express love. Does the power of thinking or believing influence how or if it manifests? It would first seem that love, in itself, has nothing to do with how it manifests. Or does it? My intention is not to play a word game with you. The point of these questions is to give us an understanding of love. We should focus on being love and not on mind concepts of love. There is a difference, spiritually and universally speaking. Continue reading →

Confrontations Begin and End with You

The world seems to spin around in an array of daily confrontations. It seems that demands constantly provoke us. But, are these anxieties real? Let just say that everything seems real if that is what you think and believe. The concept of time is an example. Clock time is at the top of the list of stress factors we confront. So, let’s pause (pun intended) for a moment. Is clock time or any other concept to blame for how we interact with it? No, can be the only answer. The number of challenges seem endless. But again, I ask, are they real? Time is useless. Yes, it has a practical use. But is time a requirement to live? No, unless you choose to live within this structure of the mind.

confrontations

The content of any experience is irrelevant. But, you choose how to observe an experience. Choose means a choice that comes from a level of consciousness. Conscious awareness means no outside influence can distort your field of presence. Also, being aware means no inner conflicts, such as from the mind. We could then stop repetitive patterns that occur in most experiences. Continue reading →

Overdramatize How You Live, but Why?

Do you like drama? Consider this question reflectively before you answer. People love to overdramatize. We literally thrive on making a mountain out of a mole hill. Most experiences are taking out of proportion. And, we usually exaggerating the details of a situation. For example, remain still and observe your reactions to the above sentences. Are you (mind) adversely interpreting what I have written? This is to say, you might take what I have written as something personal. This is because we take most things very personal. Even when something has nothing to do with us.

overdramatize

But, this is not how the mind sees a situation. Thoughts will tell you fabricated stories about an experience. Naturally, the mind bases everything on memories, anticipations, and fear. Thus, conditioned behavior causes you to overemphasize your role in whatever is unfolding. Hence, you overdramatize. Pause here and again observe the mind. Do you recall any situation that caused anxiety, stress or fear? I personally can confirm that this has happened to me at least once today. Continue reading →

Friendship Is Being True-Blue!

Do you have many friends? We use the word friend too often. Thus, it has no real significance or depth. Furthermore, this mannerism is a conditioned behavior. Thus, we have expectations and there are attachments. Wikipedia defines friendship as “A relationship of mutual affection between two people.”

friendship

Also, this affection can include relationships between more than two people. We base friendship, even love, on thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Likewise, and more often, we establish friendship through mutually conceived ideas, desires, and needs. This behavior causes attachment. Attachments and expectancy cause imbalance in the simple act of being. Being suggests simply living to live. Therefore, base an unconditional alliance, whether friend, family or partner on simply being. Continue reading →

Body, Mind, and Your Belief in Believing

Body and mind seem to be one, and they relate to each other on levels that few people are able to comprehend. We have been shown so much from the moment we are born. We have been told and taught by example what is right and wrong. This has caused the body to accept what the mind has told it. Is this really how life should be?

body

Do you often experience confusion, anxiety, and fear? Please realize that you are much more than what the mind has conditioned you to think or believe. Having a belief or believing in something has no substantial significance in life. But it seems to take on significance and meaning in our existence. This, though, does not validate it as being necessary. Life does not need to believe in something. Life is entirely indifferent to believing or not believing. Traditional thinking tells us that you must first believe in something, and then you must have faith in it. Otherwise, something will not happen nor will you get something unless you believe. However, believing in a belief does not validate its authenticity.

Furthermore, we are to accept this type of behavior as the one and only path to use when wishing for something to manifest. It does seem that we can associate better with the term believing, but only, when used strictly in human context. Conditioning causes us to accept that a belief (believing) is necessary before we can receive something. Continue reading →

Bees and Butterflies: Pain or Pleasure?

Bees and butterflies fly around your head. Are you afraid. Or do you feel delight? Does the buzz of a bee cause you frustration? The flight of a butterfly probably gives you delight. But why? Well, our reaction to the bee or the butterfly illustrate conditioned behavior. Both bee and butterfly are symbolic and insignificant. Does this surprise you? Let this statement sink in for a moment before we continue. Experiences are temporary in reference to the details of a situation. But, the moment is real in reference to the spaciousness within the experience.

bees

Bees fly from flower to flower. Butterflies fly from place to place. Why do we differentiate between the two? The bee causes fear. Not because the bee is fearful. But, because we think that it is dreadful. So, we make the experience personal. The bee wants to sting us. Or, at least, this is what we think. But, the thought is an illusion. Thus, insignificant to the present experience. However, lets be fair to the bee by given an example of the butterfly. A butterfly glides around our head. We think of joy. But, this joy is also temporary, also an illusion. Continue reading →