Friday, July 22, 2011

On Eckhart Tolle and Mindfulness

I've never liked Eckhart Tolle. My primary arguments have been that he stole from other places without giving credit, and that the people he stole from were better writers and thinkers in the first place.

On the first concern:  Maybe it's because I'm a teacher, but I'm all about primary sources.  Yet don't we all steal from one another, re-work it a bit, then call it our own?  I'm not sure it's really that big a deal that the ideas he espouses aren't at all new.  Maybe it bothers me just because I've done the work of reading the original sources, and I feel like people are cheating by relying on Tolle.  But maybe that's a bad argument.

On the second concern:  This one has more merit.  Years ago I found a site comparing Tolle quotations to a philosophers - but I can't remember the philosopher (Aristotle? Plato? Lao Tzu?), and I can't find that site.  But suffice it to say that in a quote-to-quote comparison, Tolle falls short by a mile.  His axioms are pithy and often of little substantial meaning.  And he falls into a few serious fallacy traps.  Essentially, he presents information not in a way that we can contemplate and deliberate, but in a way that makes it impossible to disagree.  One blogger called this the "three cards 'mindfuck' trick." I can't find the originally author (anon), but I found the following here:
"(1) The Higher Level Card (i.e. Sorry, it's just over your head). Sorry, but you're just not smart enough to realize I am smarter than you, because you're on a lower (less divine) level.
(2) The Projection Card (i.e., I know you are, but what am I). By criticizing me, you are really just criticizing yourself, because any problem you see in me is just a projection of a problem in yourself.
(3) The Skillful Means Card (i.e., it's all your own fault, dickhead). The most potent card of all! It's not abuse; it's not pathetic or ridiculous or wrong; it's a crazy-wise teaching. You know, like Zen stuff. So when I call you a dickhead, it's not because I'm a dickhead, it's because you have a dickhead-complex that you need to evolve past, and I'm here to help you see that. 
They are designed to end all discussion, and they are used only when folks know the actual substance of their beliefs has run, or is running, dry....

In other words, these 'cards' are used to create a situation where actual problem solving, critical thinking and good philsophizing... cannot be done."
From comments on many Tolle-philic sites, it appears he suggests we all work towards enlightenment, but doesn't say how.  If you can't do it, you're doing it wrong, but he won't say what's wrong.  Maybe it's just not in you right now to do it.

The thing is, in other writings written hundreds of years earlier, there are specific techniques you can use to have a happier, more peaceful life, the type of like Tolle suggests you could have by reading his books.  Check out what Montaigne has to say:

* Try to stay in the present (cultivate mindfulness) by maintaining an amazement at each instant of experience both outside and inside yourself. He did this by writing, in detail, about everything around him and contemplating his thoughts.  Writing forced him to pay attention, but anything that keeps you involved in what's happening right now will work.  Some people need to be hit with a stick from time to time.  Whatever works.  He says,
"When I walk alone in the beautiful orchard, if my thoughts have been dwelling on extraneous incidents for some part of the time, for some other part I bring them back to the walk, to the orchard, to the sweetness of this solitude, and to me."
* Don't let the world bring you down.  If you're upset, keep in mind how much worse it could be.  If your kids are irritating, imagine you just got a call that they all died in a tragic accident in order to shift your perspective so that you're suddenly grateful for their annoying little lives.  If you're tired of your stuff, imagine having nothing, and how happy you'd be to have it all after contemplating losing it all in a fire.  If the kids complain about dinner, remind them of how bad it would be if they lived in an impoverished country.  They should be overjoyed to be eating spaghetti yet again.  These are old tricks my parents taught me, but Montaigne suggests them too.  You can talk this further to imagine that this is the last hour of your life.  What really matters, and what can you brush off now?

* Keep in mind how insignificant you and your problems are compared to the grand scheme of things.  Seneca said,
"Place before your mind's eye the vast spread of time's abyss, and consider the universe; and then contrast our so-called human life with infinity."
Another advocate of this view in the Monty Python organ donor skit (starting at 3:45 in particular):



* A lot of Montaigne (and Tolle) is reminiscent of the Tao Te Ching, particularly when he suggests we would be better off contemplating ideas than memorizing facts.  This one is a real relief in an age where there just seems too much to know.  Montaigne says, "Forget much of what you learn." And Lao Tzu says, "The more you know, the less you understand."  Facts aren't as firm as we give them credit for being.  Suspend judgment on all these facts thrown at us.  Who knows what's real.

* To keep me in mind of morality, my mom always said, "Don't do anything you wouldn't want published on the front of the newspaper."  Seneca and Epicurus and Montaigne all suggest finding someone admirable and acting always as if that person is watching us.

* Distract yourself from what bothers you, particularly what you're unable to control.  If that jerk at work makes you nuts, don't carry the annoyance home, but leave work with a mind to do something entertaining that will help you forget your troubles.  This is a welcome break from the idea that if someone bothers us, we should delve deep into why it's such a problem for us, often going back into family of origin crap to determine if we're projecting our stuff on him, until the jerkiness is no longer so bothersome to us.  Whew!  I like that distraction idea much better.

Montaigne, and several older philosophers, say that generally, the secret to happiness is not to let your emotions get the better of you.  These are ways to help you do that:  Pay attention to right now, compare yourself to those worse off to feel better, keep the big picture in mind, don't obsess over details, act as if your idol was watching you, and distract yourself if you start losing it.  The trick is, these are things to think about not just one or twice, but all the time.  But, it is inevitable we will be sucked back into the drama of human desire and suffering surrounding us.  That's okay.  Just get back into it next time you remember and you'll feel much better.

You can't do the pure-being-ball-thing all day (from I (Heart) Huckabees):




  

49 comments:

Olesya said...

This is a great post. I read Eckhart Tolle: A New Earth. Found the book to be great and a good reminder of what we need to do, however you are completely right in the fact that many other philosophers have previously written about this, and yes, even in a better way. However I found it still to be a good reminder and have now taken up mindfulness meditation to make sure it is not my "ego" that is at the forefront of my reality.

Marie Snyder said...

Hi Olesya. Well, whatever works I guess. I find Seneca and Montaigne speak to me best in a way I can adopt. Tolle is too obscure which I find frustrating, but maybe writing in a more ineffable manner is somehow clearer or more connecting to some people.

Anonymous said...

What I do not quite understand it the fact that Tolle does give much create to the articulation of this teachings to past teachers such as Jesus, Lao Tzu, The Buddha as well as others and does not claim that he is bringing us a new teaching. In your post you can not recall multiple sources but Tolle is suppose to reference his book like a research paper? I agree that many or all of his teaching was or has been taught already but few have put together his teaching in recent years as he did in the Power of Now.

Anonymous said...

I think you sound jealous Marie,

Anonymous said...

He only talks about the truth in his own way. And he referes to other people that have spoken about the same truth. You can only call that stealing when you think he's a fraud and hasn't realized the truth and only wrote his books to make money.

Anonymous said...

We only ever experience what we are thinking about what is happening in this moment. Why talking bad about someone like Eckhart Tolle who is most likely so successful because people are ready to hear it and not because he ever claimed he found something no one ever said before. Be happy in your mind with what you are thinking and the world looks like a better place instantly. Wish you luck!

Anonymous said...

I have been a student of Buddhism for nearly four decades and find that the teachings coming through Tolle are really harmonious. The teachings about how we play ego games has been invaluable to me.
There is nothing new about the mind or spirituality; why would there be? There are many teachers (with various levels of realization) that have their unique ways of clarifying what is already inside us. If the teachings resonate with our inner natures and what we have already uncovered, great!

Unknown said...

I read the power of now and a new earth
Tolle always credited enlightened spiritual beings from the past and like a woven tapestry, masterfully blends them together as to forge a union and to show that enlightenment is reached by righteouness, its a narrow walk, the storylines different but markers the same.

Anonymous said...

I, too, find Tolle derivative and frutratingly vague. Vague enough to make acolytes think they are being enlightened when they copy his physical mannerisms and frustrating in that, with much of his philosophy coming from Buddhism, it just creates chaos when people are not more than superficially versed in those teachings. For instance, the idea that the mind is a problem. This is what I often hear parroted back to me - that thinking causes problems. It does not, although this particular idea is often used as an excuse for following "feelings" and attacking rational thought. It is true that over-thinking and mindless mind chatter can cause problems, but the simplistic ideas in Tolle's work would lead one to believe that "being" requires disdaining thought altogether. It is vague enough that those who call themselve "spiritual but not religious" can feel good about whatever it is they're doing. It does not address some of the very real issues, like character and ethics, which I believe have far better proof of being universally beneficial than sitting on a park bench for two years and calling oneself enlightened.

Unknown said...

To answer all your doubts, Eckart reveals timeless truths which are not a product of the mind, but a product of awareness of the Higher Self, so no need to give credit when stating something that everyone already knows is true at a deeper level. Secondly, if one cannot see the wisdom in his words, it is due to impurities in one's own mind and not in his words, which are pure truth. Hope this helps everyone!!��

Anonymous said...

Of course you will find this repetitive because this is essential for the Human Being, is not his discovery and he is telling nothing new, he is just trying to reach people in a different way. Some of us find difficult to read Plato, some of us find difficult to read Bruce Lee (which talk about this from the martial arts point of view in his amazing book Tao of Jet Kun Do), some of us don't even like to read at all so there are movies like "The Peaceful Warrior" or even "Star Wars" Have you ever pay attention to Yoda's quotes??? So George Lucas is also a thief? who stole from who? Lao Tse from Plato? or the other way around?. Thing is, Tolle is approaching to the people in a different way, according to our times, and guess what? there are a lot more coming. Actually you can do it, just find a new way but the core of it is, was and will be the same. And if in the process to help people you can do a way of life (earn money) is ok. No devil here...

Unknown said...

Tolle is like an Augustus Gloop who must have everything,. he will dive into your spiritual chocolate river and contaminate it,. because he has to be the guru,. the one who said it,. the one who gets paid,. the greedy disgusting capitalist who preaches his plagiarism. but hey,.if Tolle is your teacher,. good on you,. I think a lot of people on here are frustrated that he doesn't seem to give credit,. and despite his teachings or "observations,. he is a mega capitalist businessman.

Calwen said...

I am not saying Tolle is an enlightened being but i know for a fact that all enlightened beings teach the same thing in essence, therefore obsessing about plagiarism is a a non sense. The objective of this type of writing is to give an insight into awakening, into the essence of that state of consciousness. Mary I think you are completely missing the point.

Unknown said...

Hi Marie, Eckart Tolle forgives and surrenders with love and with no judgement. To calm the swirling mind and settle the ego. Simply be in the moment... Listen to the silence... Observe your thoughts as they pass by. No need to interpret or identify them. Be here right now with full awareness.

No need to give anybody credit. No one here is better, stronger, or more intelligent. There's no competition, there's no race. We are all one with the universe. No knowledge is being stolen. I am happy that the knowledge is being shared with everyone!

Unknown said...

Hi Marie, Eckart Tolle forgives and surrenders with love and with no judgement. To calm the swirling mind and settle the ego. Simply be in the moment... Listen to the silence... Observe your thoughts as they pass by. No need to interpret or identify them. Be here right now with full awareness.

No need to give anybody credit. No one here is better, stronger, or more intelligent. There's no competition, there's no race. We are all one with the universe. No knowledge is being stolen. I am happy that the knowledge is being shared with everyone!

astral1 said...

all of his quotes are trite.
that's all im sayin'

Stephen Schettini said...

Good post.

Azi said...

Right on Futurist Dada !!! Many of us are not able to take life head on because we are lazy and want some stupid stuff from bogus people like Tolle to sooth us out and they make hell of money by that....If he is so enlightened....please ask him to give all his money to poor and stop stealing further...and universe shall take care of him...he like many other has developed a whole industry to make money...plus he also get the dump audience who listen to his bullshit....get a life people, work, sweat, manage, and don't fall a prey to this .....

Mira said...

My biggest issue with Tolle in "A New Earth" is he says the following

"This book is about you. It will change your state of consciousness or it will be meaningless. It can only awaken those who are ready. Not everyone is ready yet, but many are..." then goes into a whole thing about how one by one we will join the collective consciousness.

Many people identify with his teachings, and that is great. Spirituality and religion are an individual thing, and I can respect that some people find their answers in Tolle. However my issue is that this implies that if I do not find meaning in the book, it must just be that I am not ready. That basically does not allow anyone to initiate a debate about the teachings in the book, because if we see things that don't make sense to us, it's basically just our own fault for not being ready. In a book that talks about letting go of ego, this is an arrogant statement to make.

Personally I do not identify with his teachings, though I do not disagree with the overall concept. I do not think it's because I'm not ready, I just don't think his teachings are for me. And it's okay that they're not for me. It doesn't mean it can't be someone's road to enlightenment. It's just not mine.

Bharat K said...

Hello Mira,
Before I started my spiritual journey, I would have agreed with your somewhat with your disagreement. However and to be brief, from my experience, the only way to relate to Eckhart Tolle's teachings and messages are by getting to stage where desires, wants and the mind cannot find a solution to some form of happiness that one experiences in life. The mind may not understand it but the soul or something deep within one may do and may also awaken to spiritual teachings and messages.

On my journey, even though at the start of "my time of suffering" something in me resonated with the teachings and saw changes happen in life situations from using what is labelled as the power of now, I could not sustain it. I however found another way of practising the power of now by being able to practice it not in the now, even though everything actually is in the now.

Anyway, trying to be brief, mindfulness becomes a very confusing word to use when it comes to awakening and meditation as it is somewhat the mind that causes the suffering.

I will stop there and if you wish to have a discussion please contact me here: http://karavadra.net

Thank you,

Bharat

Unknown said...

Couldn't stand eckhart at first. Then years later I've become open to his teachings. I don't fall prey to Spiritual people as a rule and have built resistance to such things. However I'm convinced he is enlightened after listening to endless talks by him. He does not waiver. It's simple truths he wields with simple certainty. Trust the ego fights to stay alive.

Unknown said...

Couldn't stand eckhart at first. Then years later I've become open to his teachings. I don't fall prey to Spiritual people as a rule and have built resistance to such things. However I'm convinced he is enlightened after listening to endless talks by him. He does not waiver. It's simple truths he wields with simple certainty. Trust the ego fights to stay alive.

Anonymous said...

These are all mind-talks and discussions. What Tolle presents is not philosophical. It is not supposed to be discussed with the mind like Marie did. It is supposed to be experienced. Because it is beyond the mind. Just practice a little meditation regularly everyday for 6 months. You will be able to relate to him. 6 more months, you will be able to feel his teachings. 6 more months, you will be able to understand him.

Bharat K said...

The mind will never experience what Tolle talks about. However those who have not experienced what he talks about, can be guided but talk, discussion and perhaps images as those are the methods by which we humans mostly communicate. Hence and as Tolle says himself, signposts are created in the form of talk and discussion but they will never be the destination he is referring to, The destination can only be experienced, even though there is no destination as such as the spiritual journey is never complete without perhaps forgetting it all.

Visible said...

Thanks for mirroring my thoughts about Tolle. I tend to be harsher in my take but tend not to spend my time concerning myself with where the chips might have landed. I've looked into the guy and his bags of money scooting from place to place, as well as the high-priced seating for Q-list celebrities. It's darker than generally known but such are these times of false profits working seeming miracle. Be well.

Anonymous said...

LMFAO, seeing how many people have absolutely no understanding of biology but insist on saying shit like "the mind can not experience it!" is disheartening.

What's worse are all the people here who read the post and still play the "Higher Level" card. No, you're not special.

Here's some good advice for anyone who thinks this regurgitated tripe is interesting or even qualifies as philosophy. Take an intro to psy and phil class at a real school. Not only will it explain to you that all of this bullshit comes from the physical organ that is the brain, but will teach you that actual philosophy is meant to be debated, not "experienced".

NATURALLOGIC said...

Addressing the direct experience vs mind-stuff conversations - There are no higher and lower levels of being... at least, not in the sense of one being better or worse than the other. They're simply varying ways of being and awareness is witness to + allows all of them. However, as it comes to direct experience, it's our primary/most subtle existence. Like a foundation, on top of which layers (thought, conditioning, habit) are added. Presence/awareness is the felt sense that you exist (try right now! Can you feel the sense that you exist?). It precedes thought. It's this awareness that is aware of thought. It's how you know you even have thoughts. You are the awareness - not the thoughts. The thoughts happen. They come and go. But you exist, whether you have thought or not. You can exist without thought (and you often do), but thought cannot exist without you (awareness). An example of presence/beingness/isness/awareness (or whatever you want to call it) being our natural + primary state could be that you have a cut. That's a direct experience. Over time, it heals. You experience the soreness. You experience it scab over. You experience the scab falling off, etc. All direct experience. Any conversations or discussions you have about it, thoughts you think about it as you look at it, beliefs you have about how it will heal, etc, are mental concepts and not the direct experience of what actually takes place. Of course, that's just an example, but any and every moment we live, underlying all of our thoughts, conditioning + behavior is an awareness/witness of our thoughts, conditioning and behavior. There are some who experience themselves AS that awareness, full time. Thought/mind, on the other hand, is not a bad thing. It's a wonderful tool. It's just not who we are. However many identify with it as who they are, which is like a carpenter identifying as a hammer. It's not 'bad' that this is happening. It's become the norm after generations of conditioning. The mind has certain very important functions, like translating insight + intuition into a way of communicating it and bringing it into the world, remembering things, and making/carrying out plans. Functional things. It's a database, it stores, memorizes, plays back + repeats when called upon. But it doesn't know anything. Anything it "knows" it learned either by learning from another source, memorizing already existing information, etc. Innovation/insight/intuition are where new knowledge comes from, and the mind translates it and stores it (and it happens so quickly that it seems the mind is the source of knowledge/insight). Mind isn't the enemy, by any means. We need it to navigate this world. But it's not who we are. Hope that helps!

Unknown said...

Agreed. He is teaching the truth. It sounds familiar because it's THE TRUTH...it's just that more people want to nit pick rather that integrate the truth into their lives. Which would clearly point to the reason that century after century the truth must be told by different teachers, perhaps with different words, until people start getting it.

Anonymous said...

He is a capitalist and you are his sheeple

Unknown said...

I am a long time Buddhist practitioner and I just want to say the above is a great description of awareness. Really helpful!!

I Am said...

Why are you so concentrated on Tolle. If you dont like his words.. then dont read them. ha ha ha.. Spending energy on telling other people why you dont like him simply is a waste of energy on someone you dont even like. ha ha ha. Im not laughing at you by the way.. i laugh in happiness and I appreciate your perception and thats ok too.. we are all "entittled" to our own way of looking at a situation. But i can tell by what you say. You are missing Tolles whole point. And as Bharat K. said above.

"However those who have not experienced what he talks about, can be guided but talk, discussion and perhaps images as those are the methods by which we humans mostly communicate."

You can only experience what he says to fully understand him. I hope one day your suffering ends on your journey.

I Am said...

Be in the now, and i hope you get some sort of relief for that complaining mind of yours. The only person you affect from writing this way is yourself. I appreciate your perception and thats ok too.. we are all "entittled" to our own way of looking at a situation. But i can tell by what you say. You are missing Tolle whole point. And as Bharat K. said above.

"However those who have not experienced what he talks about, can be guided but talk, discussion and perhaps images as those are the methods by which we humans mostly communicate."

You can only experience what he says to fully understand him. I wish you peace on your journey.

Marie Snyder said...

@I Am - If you don't like my words, then don't read them....

I Am said...

Oh Marie, your words were beautiful, I never once said that i did not like your words. That may have been your perception of it, but certainly was not mine. To be able to disagree is not to say that I do not like your words. To see the uniqueness, the difference, and likeness in us all.. is truly a beautiful thing.

Bharat K said...

@I Am, if you have read @Marie Snyder's words before reading this article and don't resonate with them then perhaps it may be better to move on and find words that you do resonate with.

However, @I Am, if this is the first article of @Marie Snyder you have read, and if your comment above is your first comment, @Marie Snyder could allow you to comment without saying "If you don't like my words, then don't read them...." and that is because you cannot come to a judgment about liking words without reading them.

Then there is the matter of how an open comments system may and will be used.

It's all food for thought for us to 'digest' and 'evolve'.

Kathleen ODaniels said...


Great post, Marie. Tolle is a crypto-anti-Semite, but it comes out in his total put down of the Old Testament - the Hebrew Bible. Also, his early videos said not to discuss them! This cognitive suicide is a dead giveaway to his desire for blind followers. His financial empire is run by his so-called wife, Kim Eng, who won't even live with him! Pull the curtain away!

Anonymous said...

Tolle is just another in a long, long, long line of hucksters.
In the words of musical composing duo Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart, "there's a sucker born every minute - each time the second hand sweeps to the top - like dandelions up they pop..." But there'll always be a rube to buy their corn...

Anonymous said...

I think so many of the judgmental comments here about Tolle are amusing--particularly because Tolle teaches that "judgments" are products of identification with the mind/ego. I generally feel no need to comment on people that I do not resonate with, as I doubt my observations about my own negative personal experiences are going to change anybody's mind, and why should they? The fact is, I have had "The Power of Now," on my shelf for years and years and years--pretty much since it was first published. I have attempted to read it numerous times over the years & never made it past chapter 1. I simply could not comprehend what he was saying. After years on a spiritual journey that eventually led me to "Dark Night of the Soul," I picked this book up one day and was amazed that I understood every word in Chapter 1. I not only understood it, but knew it to be true. I read the next chapter and the next, and I continued to understand. It's a book that changed my life. So, addressing Mira's comments that a person has to be "ready," I agree with Tolle. For many years I was not ready & could not understand. And then one day, I was ready. I don't base my perception of a teacher's work on somebody else's experience or comments or beliefs about that person. I only base it on what effect it has had in my life, and this man has had a tremendously good effect in my life. Whatever he is or isn't is not my place to judge, nor do I really care. I'm simply thankful for his work, and the fact that his teachings appeared when I most needed them.

Anonymous said...

This is a good article. If you are a critical thinker, especially if you have been engaging in self-enquiry for years, Tolle seems to be regurgitating ideas that he really does not know for himself to be true. He is not alone in this sort of nonsense. There's along line of others in front of him and behind him. From the moment I first heard him speak I knew he was not the real deal. When you truly know that you are the one you have been searching for then you recognize others who are the same. Tolle is fooling a lot of people, although much of what he says is valid, mostly because he has copied it from myriad gurus of the Vedanta line.

Highlander said...

Was it Montaigne who made the observation regarding hero-worship that they all needed to go for a shit and they all died?

Eckhart Tolle, like most other 'new-age/new-consciousness' headologists, is inconsistent, self-contradicting and patronising. On one hand he says that the past has no power over the present, but on the other hand, he says that the past has value if it is relevant to the present. So which one is it to be, Eckhart? I know which version is bullshit.

The success of Tolle is proof that there IS a sucker born every minute.

He's another charlatan whose 'wisdom/insight' would not stand up to the interrogation of cognitive psychology, let alone Buddhist psychoanalysis.

At least Donald W. Shimoda was a real fictional character.

And whereas I do consider Richard Bach to be a writer worth reading, whose books are worth buying, I never have and never will spend a penny on Eckhart Tolle's pulp.

Bharat K said...

As with all incoming messages to the self whether or not they resonate and contribute to each of our journeys through life, such as the words and teachings of Eckhart Tolle, of our parents and elders when we were younger, of the television shows and movies we watched, our journeys may continue without, with, or by those words and teachings... meaning that some people will accept and live by some words and teachings and some won't because of where each person 'is' in life.

There are no right or wrong words and teachings for every person, as we all have different perspectives of life. What may feel right for one person may feel wrong for another and only experience will demonstrate that in the form of the individual self's thoughts, emotions and sensations.

Right words and teachings will be judged as being right from feelings such as peace, freedom, joy and growth that have been experienced by the individual self from the words and teachings. The wrong words and teachings will be judged as so from feelings such as conflict, frustration, sadness and anger that have been experienced by the individual self from the same words and teachings.

However from my experience of life so far, what feels right may and most probably will eventually feel wrong. The best way I can explain that is by saying that we cannot experience something without experiencing the opposite. For example we could not experience a top without their being a bottom and without the two we could not experience the potentially infinite short and long experiences in life which are possible with there being a top and a bottom.

So my suggestion is that if something does not feel 'right' for you then meditate on it and/or focus on what does feel 'right' for you... debating that experiencing the top of a mountain is meaningless to people who enjoy climbing to the top of the mountain may distract from each self's experiences such as those of peace, joy, freedom and growth.

Many people try to patch and fix what feels wrong or meaningless by doing something with or to the situation which actually gives it more attention and power. That is because many of us are taught that we have to do something to fix our negative life situations, rather than be which is effectively what Eckhart Tolle teaches as far as I am currently aware (his words and teachings had a presence in my experience of life at the time it was required for where I was in life and I haven't listened to his words and teachings for many years but I did live by them which helped me and now other words and teachings also help me). Anyway, being rather than doing does not mean we don't do anything, but that we do it from a different 'place' within our selves.

If anyone finds it not easy to not pay attention to what feels not right and finds themselves constantly doing but their undesirable life situations continue, then I suggest a form of meditation that resonates with your individual self. If you cannot find a meditation technique that works for you then I am refining a practice which is based on quantum physics and how our reality behaves at the quantum level (hence applicable by anyone). I have used the practice myself for over 12 years now which and you can try what I have created so far for free. It's here : https://www.karavadra.net

In the simplest terms, try to focus on the aspects of life that have and create for your individual self, the more positive experiences such as peace, freedom, joy and growth, and the rest should take care of itself.

Unknown said...

Truth is i dont understand ppl are not more critical of him.

Very good point about argument ppl will use to discredit critics, its all about condescension in a way.
I am spiritual you are now im am awaken you are not.

Most ppl finding spirituality and things like Tolle power of now are desperately looking for meaning they want and need something more. So when they find something that connect with them and living experience they hang on for dear life, it is their life line.
Their ego cant handle having nothing to hang on.

Ask them specific detailed questions like is your ego link to your believe of spirituality, for lots of ppl this is their identity, but they can t see that.

i want to ask them what makes them more awake than me and what knowledge they have that i dont.

I ask them if they think Tolle wrighting are from a place of ego, to me his style convey ego, especially when he extrapolate and make prediction about the whole planet and ppl awakening.
Complexe of grandiosity?




With this he lost all credibility because how can you follow the advice of someone who his clearly not taking his own medicine.




Seems regurgitated of many basic philosophies.

Its seems that most of them have the same basic and got to agree with most of his statement, but maybe i see something other dont.

Hitchhiker42 said...

I agree that Tolle spouts a lot of fluff without substance which he has gleaned and regurgitated from other sources. You are totally right; he would be a better speaker if he actually said WHERE he got this stuff he's parroting. Admittedly Tolle is a good actor; he adopts the calm, Dalai-lama-like-patience of a well-read Buddhist monk. I have attended workshops at a Tibetan Buddhist Temple with some really good speakers on the subject of Mindfullness. Tolle speaks like them but he doesn't deliver the same succinct or coherent content. It's like he's playing "Professor" without having a Ph.D. in anything. The Tolle business model seems to take a lot of Mindfulness philosophy and pad it with cotton, then bubble-wrap it in his own ponderous delivery style. Can. He. Speak. Any. Slower? Typical Tolle-speak: The consciousness is a manifestation of our thoughts and that is the controlling factor in our experience of oneness and if I just talk in circles for 5 minutes about The Now you'll be awestruck by my new-agey prowess. Tolle takes 45 minutes to deliver a point which any Intro to Buddhism book can knock out in a paragraph, which may be the point because if you didn't quite get it during the seminar, his book is available in the lobby. $$$ Yeah, profit! $$$

Anonymous said...

I have something for you. Eckhart is ready to do it again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPr1pupYkrg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzo9FBYG9GQ

Anonymous said...

My experience with tolle has been net negative. My anxiety got way worse after the initial high of his teaching. Thank you for posting.

Anonymous said...

Tolle is on my list of worst authors along with Ayn Rand and E.L. James. Absolute drek.

Waarlowe said...

Hi Maria.

At first, I thought your essay ironically missed the point of Tolle’s teachings--which basically boils down to a call for the collective dissolution of the ego... and which is essentially at the heart of every major spiritual movement in human history (that I’m aware of). I thought: “Look at the big brain on Maria! Check out all those classical philosopher citations and her dexterous writing style!” This translates to: “Maria’s ego is showcasing how smart she is!” Because the ego recoils at the notion of being wrong (or especially ignored), it must express its views, and this is best done by substantiating its point(s) with the claims of those heroic antecedents it prefers to espouse. This is obviously a shared sentiment/theme on this comment board. And the only entities that would take offense to this observation is... the egos of everyone who decided to take a steaming dump on Mr. Tolle.

But: My ego is likewise a fan of critical thinking and—besides service to others—what else is there to do during our time on Earth anyway? Thereby, I gotta react to your first and second concerns. First concern: You said it yourself—it’s kind of a bad argument; I don’t think I need to elaborate on why. Second concern: I agree. Tolle doesn’t offer much in the way of taking action to obtain enlightenment. But I’m not sure that was his intention in A New Earth, for example. Rather, methinks he primarily wanted to indict the culprit of every challenge in human relations, in every culture: the ego. There is good news though! The Magic of Manifesting (2019) by Ryuu Shinohara is like Tolle for Dummies, although it’s not dumb in any way. And it does present clear-cut techniques for a practical approach to seeking happiness.

This is all to say, check out TMOM, but beware: The book credits other metaphysicians and researchers about as much (or as little) as Tolle, which in my ego’s opinion is not comprehensive, but just enough. Also, keep up the good work. =]

Laura said...

Other than those who chose to make their argument by denigrating another human being I enjoyed this article and comments. I found the Who am I? mantra to be really helpful I don't know where it originated and I don't feel it really matters but I heard Tolle talking about it and gave it a go. It gave me my first conscious moment as an adult and has been my anchor for recovery from psychologic anguish. Six years on my practice has developed but I still use tools and consider lessons shared by Tolle along with other approaches that I find help me be present and quieten a sometimes unruly mind.

Magick1369 said...

Eckhart Tolle may have a bit of realization, however he is riddled with fallacies and his shadow is still present...and so is his "ego". He skips over the hard work of Individuation, which Jung spent a lifetime experiencing and mapping. So did Sri Aurobindo with his Integral Yoga and Philosophy. The Soul is a Reality that cannot simply be skipped over because one does not want to do decades of shadow work. Yet, all of the Western myths and religions and the Yogic traditions affirm the Soul. Particularly, the evolving Soul or Psychic Being. This is your true Ego. It is Ego minus the false beliefs, wounds, cultural conditioning, complexes, and karma of the false self. Never believe for a minute that you are not an Individual and need a healthy integrated Ego. With a weak ego, one cannot attain enlightenment or integration, which is a much more accurate term. The Source loves diversity. Look at the variety of species, flowers, insects, animals, each one of them a unique expression of the Divine Source. This is a self evident Truth, not a "delusion of the ego". There is the One and the Many. Both currents of the Divine are a paradox and must be held in balance. Tolle was obviously influenced by and borrowed from Vedanta, which is also a fallacy of the spiritual bypass. There is no enlightenment without suffering the trials and regression in service of transcendence. This is the journey into Hell that no one wants to talk about, yet it is absolutely essential. Until the blocks and wounds and complexes are made conscious and are healed, there is no wholeness. Without wholeness, there is nothing. Yes, I am Realized at the Soul level, after 35 years on the path of healing my Soul. My healthy and authentic Ego is now completely integrated with my Soul, which in turn is directly open to and connected to the Source. Tolle should stop posing and posturing as an enlightened teacher. He is not. That is his false self.