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  ~C4Chaos : (hyper)linker

Ripples on the Surface of Being

~C4Chaos said Sep 25, 2006, 2:38 PM:
 

Ripples on the Surface of Being

Eckhart Tolle interviewed by Andrew Cohen


In an entirely captivating interview, one of the shining stars of contemporary secular spirituality speaks about the inward stillness he's discovered and what it really means to “transcend the world.”

Andrew Cohen: Eckhart, what is your life like? I’ve heard that you’re a bit of a recluse and that you spend a lot of time in solitude. Is that true?

Eckhart Tolle: That was true in the past, before my book The Power of Now came out. For many years I was a recluse. But since the publication of the book, my life has changed dramatically. I’m now very much involved in teaching and traveling. And people who knew me before say, “This is amazing. You used to be a hermit and now you are out in the world.” Yet I still feel that inside nothing has changed. I still feel exactly the same as before. There is still a continuous sense of peace, and I am surrendered to the fact that on an external level there’s been a total change. So it’s actually not true anymore that I am a hermit. Now I’m the opposite of a hermit. This may well be a cycle. It may well be that at some point this will come to an end and I will become a hermit again. But at the moment, I am surrendered to the fact that I’m almost continuously interacting. I do occasionally take time to be alone. That is necessary in between teaching engagements.

Cohen: Why is it that you need to take time to be alone, and what is it that happens when you take the time to be alone?

Tolle: When I’m with people, I’m a spiritual teacher. That’s the function, but it’s not my identity. The moment I’m alone, my deepest joy is to be nobody, to relinquish the function of a teacher. It’s a temporary function. Let’s say I’m seeing a group of people. The moment they leave me, I’m no longer a spiritual teacher. There’s no longer any sense of external identity. I simply go into the stillness more deeply. The place that I love most is the stillness. It’s not that the stillness is lost when I talk or when I teach because the words arise out of the stillness. But when people leave me, there is only the stillness left. And I love that so much.

Read more…
  Whitewave : Into the Shadow...

Re: Ripples on the Surface of Being

Whitewave said Sep 25, 2006, 2:59 PM:
 

LOL

I take it you really like this one, hon.

~Ww
  Nicole : wakingdreamer

Re: Ripples on the Surface of Being

Nicole said Sep 25, 2006, 5:47 PM:
 

Can you blame him, Ww? This is mind-blowing stuff. Thanks a million, C4! I will have to re-read this a few times - heck I should read this every day! This is so totally where it's at…

Namaste,

Nicole
  ~C4Chaos : (hyper)linker

Re: Ripples on the Surface of Being

~C4Chaos said Sep 25, 2006, 9:53 PM:
 

honestly, i really do. next to the KDub interview of course :)
 

Re: Ripples on the Surface of Being

Patrick [no longer around] said Oct 6, 2006, 4:10 PM:
 

Tolle looks like a sweedish dwarf/hobbit  you'd encounter in a forest!

His way of explaining the path is amazing, thrilling, and so motivating!

I'm glad he came out of the forrest!
  Stu : Knower of Nothing

Re: Ripples on the Surface of Being

Stu said Oct 7, 2006, 2:59 PM:
 

What a convergence.  I was listening to Tolle's “Power of Now” in the car when I saw this latest article.  It feels like this week is Tolle Week.  That is if I had themes for each week.

I find myself asking myself as I walk around.  “Am I present now?”.  Its a great exercise.  And not hard to do.

s.

Wouldn't it be a wonderful irony if I made next week Being Fully Present in the Moment Week?
I couldn't even look forward to that without feeling guilty.
 

Re: Ripples on the Surface of Being

Patrick [no longer around] said Oct 9, 2006, 1:29 AM:
 

I did a “presence week” last week! But I did not get illuminated, so I'm a bit pissed off!

So, in a spirit of rebellion I decided to be fully absent and to bathe in past and future. It's a really difficult exercice, which I failed: I found myself present!
Nothing works! LOL
 

Re: Ripples on the Surface of Being

T [no longer around] said Oct 31, 2006, 11:31 AM:
 

This article in WIE has got to be one of the most influential articles I've ever read in a magazine!  Mind opening stuff!!! I think my next trip to the bookstore will be to buy The Power of Now.  Thanks WIE for such a great magazine!!!
Peace…
T
  Nicole : wakingdreamer

Re: Ripples on the Surface of Being

Nicole said Oct 31, 2006, 2:24 PM:
 

Dear T,

Do it, and be warned… it will probably change your life! The Power of Now is the most awesome book.

Love,

Nicole
 

Re: Ripples on the Surface of Being

T [no longer around] said Nov 9, 2006, 12:50 PM:
 

Dear Nicole,
Wow…you weren't kidding about The Power of Now….what a book!  I haven't even read half-way thru yet and its just amazing! It makes so much sense…it really feels like I'm just awakening to what I already know, but have buried under my ego (I hate to use that word but have no other at the moment..)  It just rings so true….. and I especially like how he refers to the Bible, especially some of the parables and stuff that I wasn't really sure what the point was, now I know.  It is so great to finally, begin to “get it”!

Peace….

T
  Nicole : wakingdreamer

Re: Ripples on the Surface of Being

Nicole said Nov 9, 2006, 5:45 PM:
 

I felt just like that! i love seeing someone else wake up to the power of now! it's the best…

love

nicole
 

Re: Ripples on the Surface of Being

Patrick [no longer around] said Nov 10, 2006, 9:17 AM:
 

Right, it's a marvellous book.

I just want to raise on point here. After reading this book, some people might think that they manage to extinct their thinking process - it's as if they were no more thought! I just want to say that thinking always goes on, but it is more still, or unoticeable, but still, an undercurrent of thought is still there.

The full extinction of the thought process is something that happens in some high peak experiences.


Love to you, Patrick
 

Re: Ripples on the Surface of Being

T [no longer around] said Nov 11, 2006, 2:01 PM:
 

I guess that's possible for some people….. I know my mind will never completely stop thinking, it thinks way too much now and overthinking usually gets me into more trouble!   I'm just looking for ways to think a little less and just “be” a little more.

peace..
T