Before looking at some of Tolle's insights, I'd like to just include a passage from a three part video by Matti Freeman:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DhXQ0TKGBo
Part 1 Transcript:
"Eckhart Tolle actually is a 'poster-boy' for Consumerism. He had nothing, he had a miserable childhood, he then eventually had this 'enlightenment experience' and, kind of was a bum for a while and hung around on park benches, and then he wrote his book and his book became a best seller and he became very successful and started earning a lot of money.
So, I mean even in that you can see that it's not 'enlightenment' that brought Eckhart Tolle abundance - it was only when he produced a product that could be marketed and sold in the consumerist system, that people would pay money for - that then he became successful. He had to attain a position - he didn't actually attain anything 'special' - look at what he actually attained, he attained a position where he, Eckhart Tolle has value as a Product, as a Marketable Item - as a Commodity. He's selling 'enlightenment' - he's actually selling himself as the 'pathway' to 'enlightenment'. So he's 'paying the Toll' by actually prostituting himself within the system so that he can receive support financially, and he is presenting pretty words and a pretty experience that apparently is attainable by applying the 'Power of Now' whereby you can have a 'winning' experience of 'enlightenment' and 'bliss' - and people pay money for his words, for his books, to hear him speak because they want to feel better and they want to have an experience of 'bliss' and 'enlightenment' -- and that's 'consumerism-in-action'.
So Eckhart Tolle is, a perfect example of 'consumerism-in-action', and it's no wonder that when you listen to his video talking about 'the current economy', that when you actually listen to the words he's saying, he has no - nothing of substance to say, he has no actual perspective on anything, he presents no practical solution to any problem - because it's actually the current economic system that made Eckhart Tolle what he is today.
So, Eckhart Tolle IS the current Economic System - Eckhart Tolle is Consumerism, Eckhart Tolle is Capitalism -- he is a product that is marketed, and that, which is 'enlightenment and bliss', which capitalizes on people's desire to experience their life 'easier' and experience 'bliss', and find a solution to all their problems and troubles.
So, another fascinating point to look at within this is that he's also like a 'self help guru' to celebrities like Meg Ryan and Oprah Winfrey, and other people, and obviously he's receiving money to apparently 'assist' them on their 'pathway to enlightenment' - but what's interesting is that he's not assisting people who are in poverty or starving children to apparently apply the 'Power of Now' to improve their condition - why? Because they don't have money to pay him with. The celebrities have money that they can pay him with, so obviously he is their 'self help guru'.
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I don't usually go in for self-help books and those that could be categorized as "New Age". Like the above commentator, I get suspicious of those who become "celebritized" and accrue millions from their "teachings." Would Tolle have been successful without Oprah Winfrey? Does Tolle really need this vast fortune which is being ploughed into developing mroe products to buy enlightenment? Is he not just another product inside the system?
Too harsh? Missing the point? Perhaps. I'm sure many people can something from his insights all the same but let's keep in mind that Eckhart himself is NOT a Teacher but a messenger of insights that he has re-packaged and is busy selling. That is not to say, that his contribution does not have value - it does, but there are problems with his whole presentation and example.
However, Eckart Tolle has offered some simple insights into the nature of the human condition that I'd like to share at the end of my beef.
For instance, he often presents the thinking mind as the overall problem rather than the aspect of circular, useless thinking without awareness. He doesn't state the difference clearly enough so that the impression is that thinking per se, is to be avoided and that you just have to "feel" and cultivate awareness from joy, acceptance and enthusiasm. While hugely important, it's not enough. In the end, this represents a vast simplification that amounts to the sin of omission.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DhXQ0TKGBo
Part 1 Transcript:
"Eckhart Tolle actually is a 'poster-boy' for Consumerism. He had nothing, he had a miserable childhood, he then eventually had this 'enlightenment experience' and, kind of was a bum for a while and hung around on park benches, and then he wrote his book and his book became a best seller and he became very successful and started earning a lot of money.
So, I mean even in that you can see that it's not 'enlightenment' that brought Eckhart Tolle abundance - it was only when he produced a product that could be marketed and sold in the consumerist system, that people would pay money for - that then he became successful. He had to attain a position - he didn't actually attain anything 'special' - look at what he actually attained, he attained a position where he, Eckhart Tolle has value as a Product, as a Marketable Item - as a Commodity. He's selling 'enlightenment' - he's actually selling himself as the 'pathway' to 'enlightenment'. So he's 'paying the Toll' by actually prostituting himself within the system so that he can receive support financially, and he is presenting pretty words and a pretty experience that apparently is attainable by applying the 'Power of Now' whereby you can have a 'winning' experience of 'enlightenment' and 'bliss' - and people pay money for his words, for his books, to hear him speak because they want to feel better and they want to have an experience of 'bliss' and 'enlightenment' -- and that's 'consumerism-in-action'.
So Eckhart Tolle is, a perfect example of 'consumerism-in-action', and it's no wonder that when you listen to his video talking about 'the current economy', that when you actually listen to the words he's saying, he has no - nothing of substance to say, he has no actual perspective on anything, he presents no practical solution to any problem - because it's actually the current economic system that made Eckhart Tolle what he is today.
So, Eckhart Tolle IS the current Economic System - Eckhart Tolle is Consumerism, Eckhart Tolle is Capitalism -- he is a product that is marketed, and that, which is 'enlightenment and bliss', which capitalizes on people's desire to experience their life 'easier' and experience 'bliss', and find a solution to all their problems and troubles.
So, another fascinating point to look at within this is that he's also like a 'self help guru' to celebrities like Meg Ryan and Oprah Winfrey, and other people, and obviously he's receiving money to apparently 'assist' them on their 'pathway to enlightenment' - but what's interesting is that he's not assisting people who are in poverty or starving children to apparently apply the 'Power of Now' to improve their condition - why? Because they don't have money to pay him with. The celebrities have money that they can pay him with, so obviously he is their 'self help guru'.
-------------------------------------
I don't usually go in for self-help books and those that could be categorized as "New Age". Like the above commentator, I get suspicious of those who become "celebritized" and accrue millions from their "teachings." Would Tolle have been successful without Oprah Winfrey? Does Tolle really need this vast fortune which is being ploughed into developing mroe products to buy enlightenment? Is he not just another product inside the system?
Too harsh? Missing the point? Perhaps. I'm sure many people can something from his insights all the same but let's keep in mind that Eckhart himself is NOT a Teacher but a messenger of insights that he has re-packaged and is busy selling. That is not to say, that his contribution does not have value - it does, but there are problems with his whole presentation and example.
However, Eckart Tolle has offered some simple insights into the nature of the human condition that I'd like to share at the end of my beef.
For instance, he often presents the thinking mind as the overall problem rather than the aspect of circular, useless thinking without awareness. He doesn't state the difference clearly enough so that the impression is that thinking per se, is to be avoided and that you just have to "feel" and cultivate awareness from joy, acceptance and enthusiasm. While hugely important, it's not enough. In the end, this represents a vast simplification that amounts to the sin of omission.
He also places everything on the idea of the collective ego as the source of all ills. Well, maybe that's true but again, this amounts to a rather dangerous simplification. "The devil is in the details" after all. For example, I do think it is essential to have a solid grounding in psychological principles regarding oneself, the family and society with special attention to psychopathology as it manifests in the world today. Otherwise, quite simply, your awareness can be led down pathways of illusion, deception and falsity without you ever knowing it. You can't just suddenly leave a wholly subjective reality that we have been conditioned to accept just like that. It takes time and a lot of cold examination of the ego and it's wiley ways. As such Tolle vastly overstates the ease of leaving behind ego control and what Castaneda called: The "Predator's Mind". All these principles of ego awareness, cultivating happiness, learning how to release the past and know the "Power of now" are not much good if you are confronted with narcissism, a psychopath or sub-categories of psychopathology. It has to be a parallel practice otherwise, putting it bluntly: you are simply lunch.
Nevertheless, Eckhart Tolle's Book: New Earth is a valuable and rich contribution to attaining a more balanced and authentic communion with reality in our lives. It's especially good for those who have been brought "down to earth" somewhat and need to start simply and carefully and not jump straight into higher esoteric principles. It's an excellent primer in that regard for those starting out or just emerging from years of dysfunction. Tolle's insights on the ego are especially useful in this context. It is largely on that subject that I'd like to include some extracts for you. I hope it proves useful. (These posts will be in several parts).
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The word "I" embodies the greatest error and the greatest truth, depending on how it is used. In conventional usage, it is not only one of the most frequently used words in the language (together with "me," "mine," "my," and "myself") but also one of the most misleading. In normal everyday usage, "I" embodies the primoridal error, a misperception of who you are., an illusory sense of identity. [...] That illusory sense of self then becomes the basis for further interpretations of reality, all thought processes, interactions, and relationships. Your reality becomes a reflection of the original illusion. [...]
[The child begins to identify with objects,] which means investing in things, but ultimately thoughts that represent things, with a sense of self , thereby deriving an identity from them. [...] And so as the child grows up the original "I" thought attracts other "I" thoughts to itself: It becomes identified with gender, possessions, the sense-perceived body, a nationality, race, religion, profession. Other things the "I" identifies with are roles - mother, father, husband, wife and so on - accumulated knowledge or opinions, likes and dislikes and also things that happened to "me" in the past, the memory of which are thoughts that further define my sense of self as "me and my story."...[This] is ultimately no more than thoughts held together precariously by the fact that they are all invested with a sense of self. This mental construct is what you normallt refer to when you say "I": To be more precise: Most of the time it is not you who speaks when you say "I" but some aspect of that mental construct, thje egoic self. Once you awaken you will still use the word "I" but it will come from a much deeper place within your self.
[The child begins to identify with objects,] which means investing in things, but ultimately thoughts that represent things, with a sense of self , thereby deriving an identity from them. [...] And so as the child grows up the original "I" thought attracts other "I" thoughts to itself: It becomes identified with gender, possessions, the sense-perceived body, a nationality, race, religion, profession. Other things the "I" identifies with are roles - mother, father, husband, wife and so on - accumulated knowledge or opinions, likes and dislikes and also things that happened to "me" in the past, the memory of which are thoughts that further define my sense of self as "me and my story."...[This] is ultimately no more than thoughts held together precariously by the fact that they are all invested with a sense of self. This mental construct is what you normallt refer to when you say "I": To be more precise: Most of the time it is not you who speaks when you say "I" but some aspect of that mental construct, thje egoic self. Once you awaken you will still use the word "I" but it will come from a much deeper place within your self.
"Thinking without awareness [and compulsive thinking] is the main dilemma of human existence."
The egoic mind is completely conditioned by the past. Its conditioning is twofold: It consists of content and structure.
In the case of a child who cries in deep suffering because his toy has been taken away, the toy represents content. It is interchangeable with any other content, any other toy or object. The content you identify with is conditioned by your environment, your upbringing, and surrounding culture. Whether the child is rich or poor, whether the toy is a piece of wood shaped like an animal or a sophisticated electronic gadget makes no difference as far as the suffering caused by its loss is concerned. The reason why such acute suffering occurs is concealed in the word "my," and it is structural. The unconscious compulsion to enhance one's identity through association with an object is built into the very structure of the egoic mind.
One of the most basic mind structures through which the ego comes into existence is identification. The word "identification" is derived from the Latin word idem, meaning "same" and facere, which means "to make." So, when I identify with something I, "make it the same." The same as what? The same as I. I endow it with a sense of self, and so it becomes a part of my "identity." One of the most basic levels of identification is with things: My toy later becomes my car, my house, my clothes, and so on. I try to find myself in things but never quite make it and end up losing myself in them. That is the fate of the ego. [...] What you identity with all to do with content; whereas, the unconscious compulsion to identify is structural. It is one of the most basic ways the egoic mind operates. [...]
Things are a necessary and inescapable part of our lives...We need to honour the world of things, not despise it. Each thing has Beingness, is a temporary form that has its own origin within the formless one of Life, the source of all things; all bodies, all forms. In most ancient cultures, people believed that everything, even so called inanimate objects had an indwelling spirit, and in this respect they were closer to the truth than we are today. When you live in a world deadened by mental abstraction, you don't sense the aliveness of the universe anymore. Most people don't inhabit a living reality but a conceptualized one.
But we cannot really honor things if we use them as a means to self-enhancement, that is to say, if we try to find ourselves through them. This is exactly what the ego does....The unchecked striving for more, for endless growth, is a dysfunctionand a disease. it is the same dysfunction the cancerous cell manifests whose only goal is to multiply itself unaware that it is bringing about it's own destruction by destroying the organism of which it is a part. [...]
The ego isn't wrong, it's just unconscious. When you observe the ego in yourself you are beginning to go beyond it. Don't take the ego too seriously....Above all know that the ego isn't personal. It isn't who you are. If you consider ego to be your personal problem, that's just more ego. [...] If you take away one kind of identification the ego will quickly find another. It ultimately doesn't mind what it identifies with as long as it has an identity. [...] The ego lives through comparision. How you are seen by others turns into how you see yourself. [...] No ego can last for long without the need for more. Therefore, wanting keeps the ego alive much more than having. The ego wants to want much more than it wants to have. And so the shallow satisfaction of having is always replaced by more wanting. This is the psychological need for more, that is to say, more things to identify with. It is an addictive need, not an authentic one. [...]
Most egos have conflicting wants. They want different things at different timesor may not even know what they want except that they don't want is: the present moment. Unease, restlessness, boredom, anxiety, dissatisfaction are the result of unfulfilled wanting. Wanting is structural, so no amount of content can provide lasting fulfillment as long as that mental structure remains in place. [...]
Ego is always identification with form, seeking yourself and thereby losing yourself in some form. Forms are not just material objects and physical bodies. More fundamental than the external forms - things and bodies - are the thought forms that continuously arise in the field of consciousness. They are energy formations, finer and less dense than physical matter, but they are forms nonetheless. What you may be aware of as a voice in your head that never stops speaking is the stream of incessant and compulsive thinking. When every thought absorbs your attention completely, when you are so identified with the voice in your head and the emotions that accompany it that you lose yourself in every thought and every emotion, then you are totally identified with form and therefore the grip of ego. Ego is a conglomeration of recurring thought forms and conditioned mental patterns that are invested with a sense of I, a sense of self. Ego arises when your sense of Beingness, of "I am," which is formless consciousness, gets mixed up with form. This is the meaning of identification. This is forgetfulness of Being, the primary error; the illusion of absolute separateness that turns reality into a nightmare.
Ego is always identification with form, seeking yourself and thereby losing yourself in some form. Forms are not just material objects and physical bodies. More fundamental than the external forms - things and bodies - are the thought forms that continuously arise in the field of consciousness. They are energy formations, finer and less dense than physical matter, but they are forms nonetheless. What you may be aware of as a voice in your head that never stops speaking is the stream of incessant and compulsive thinking. When every thought absorbs your attention completely, when you are so identified with the voice in your head and the emotions that accompany it that you lose yourself in every thought and every emotion, then you are totally identified with form and therefore the grip of ego. Ego is a conglomeration of recurring thought forms and conditioned mental patterns that are invested with a sense of I, a sense of self. Ego arises when your sense of Beingness, of "I am," which is formless consciousness, gets mixed up with form. This is the meaning of identification. This is forgetfulness of Being, the primary error; the illusion of absolute separateness that turns reality into a nightmare.
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