Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings

In this episode Eckhart talks further about the pain body. He compares it to the character Gollum, in Lord of the Rings. He says the pain body, feeds on suffering and creates misery for everyone.  However, Eckhart explains once we recognize the pain body for what it is, we don’t have to be held hostage anymore. Our awareness is the first step toward freedom. Eckhart goes on to say that people with a heavy pain body are often eager to awaken spiritually. The discomfort becomes so great, they take action to alleviate it. Eckhart admits he was such a person.  Early in life, he was deeply unhappy with himself… until age twenty nine, when he underwent a profound spiritual transformation. Eckhart explains the pain body may seem like a huge obstacle. However, paradoxically, he says it can also act as a powerful catalyst to awaken. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

In this podcast, Eckhart says one of the hurdles we must confront regularly is our unconscious thinking.  He says our relentless, self-centered thoughts actually feed the ego and keep us mired in a fictitious sense of self. He explains the ego loves problems and strengthens its grip by creating suffering for ourselves and others. Eckhart says if we’re not growing spiritually, when crises strike, they will make us even more unconscious. But there’s a paradox. Eckhart explains suffering can actually push us to awaken. When we can’t take the pain anymore, we finally surrender. He says most unhappiness is not the result of life’s difficulties…it’s our reaction to them. Eckhart says when we have a foot on the path, misfortune is no longer an obstacle. Instead it becomes an opportunity for spiritual growth.Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

In this podcast Eckhart talks with an audience in Stockholm, Sweden. He says the idea is to inhabit The Now. Ironically, he says most of us try to escape it…through activities, addiction or our thinking. We would rather be anywhere other than here. We say: “I’ve got too much going on. I don’t have time for presence. ” Eckhart explains this mindset can wreak havoc with our lives and create dysfunction. He says the most important thing any of us can do is to embody consciousness. He says evolution on this planet is actually happening through us. And on a larger scale, we are inseparable from the awakening universe.Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

In this podcast, Eckhart elaborates further about finding freedom from the bondage of self. He says the first step is to confront our thinking and resist the urge to identify with every thought we have. Eckhart says rising above thinking paves the way to liberation. Many people try to free themselves through substances like alcohol, drugs, food and sex.  While these might provide some fleeting relief Eckhart says what we’re really doing is falling below thinking and spiraling down into unconsciousness and addiction. Eckhart warns that we arequickly moving towards a crisis point for humanity and the planet. However, reaching this pivotal moment does not have to spell disaster. On the contrary, Eckhart says it’s precisely during a crisis that we have the greatest opportunity to evolve and when the need is most dire,large-scale transformation becomes even more possible. He says many people are ready for a shift in consciousness. Eckhart urges us onward because he says awakening is no longer a luxury it’s a necessity for our survival.Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

In this podcast, Eckhart talks about how many of us strive to become a bigger, better version of “me.” We do that through myriad achievements, wealth, status or possessions. Eckhart says it’s like the person who believes buying a more palatial home will somehow signify they’ve made it. He believes people become so invested in outcomes they neglect the journey. He says even spiritual seekers fall into this trap when they chase after enlightenment which can become another form of ego. He explains these behaviors are all a misguided quest for fulfillment and identity. Eckhart cautions against looking for ourselves in everything we do. He says no goal will ever make us happy because who we truly are has nothing to do with outcomes or achievements. He says our deepest selves are rooted in consciousness itself. Eckhart describes it as the one transcendent source of all life. He says becoming aware of this dimension is the only thing that will bring lasting fulfillment.Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN   

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, when a friend gave him several spiritual books. Through study, he learned to shift his thinking from negative to positive. Suddenly, the well-worn idea that bad things always happened to him evaporated. This breakthrough was a catalyst for greater spiritual development that continued well into his twenties. Eckhart explains awareness of our thoughts is the beginning of awakening.Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

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 connects us to the transcendent. He says we can become familiar with this divine aspect of ourselves through a state of no-thinking free of the inner critic and false narratives. Eckhart says when we discover who we are without our past what emerges is the profound presence of being.Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

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 forgetful of being and we suffer. Eckhart says the being dimension is fundamental to living a fulfilled life. He says awareness of our inner states is the first step in getting there.Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

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 the universe is conscious. And we are a part of that. He quotes Alan Watts, a famous writer and spiritual teacher, who said: “You are a function of what the whole universe is doing, in the same way that a wave is a function of what the whole ocean is doing.”Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

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. Eckhart encourages everyone to practice moments of pure awareness. He says presence can be a powerful tool for healing allowing loving kindness to flow through us and affect everything we touch. He says we don’t know yet how it will transform the world, but it most certainly will.Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

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. Eckhart says this leap forward in consciousness is the next step for humanity. He believes without more spiritual development we will not survive.Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

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 the secrets of the universe when we look within. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

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 through a painful childhood and years of unconsciousness, he would never have grown spiritually. He explains it was his suffering that pushed him to a new level of consciousness. He says we are living through crises now because challenges propel us toward evolution. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPods  You can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN   

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.  He says consciousness is what remains when thought comes to an end. He says it is only by taking our attention deeply into the present that we encounter the transcendent. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

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 and we believe them without question. Over time, we weave them into a sad story called my life and we become victim to these narratives. Eckhart explains that we cannot go through life without challenges. He explains even if we are awakened spiritually, difficulties will continue. However, the difference is that we will no longer turn adversity into suffering. We have the awareness to liberate ourselves from the shackles of our thinking.Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

In this episode, Eckhart talks about how far we have yet to go in our spiritual growth.  He says what’s critical is that we transcend our thinking because it’s absolutely necessary for our survival. He says the dysfunction of the ego dates back thousands of years. Eckhart explains we need only look at history for evidence: creating enemies, war and endless cycles of violence. He says the same aberration still exists today. Yet, science and technology have amplified it so greatly that the collapse of civilization and worldwide destruction are imminently possible. Eckhart believes we are in crisis and in order to make a shift we must evolve beyond our current state of consciousness. He says when a critical number of people connect more consistently with their transcendent selves, an entirely new world will be born which Eckhart calls A New Earth. He says that is our destiny and the secret to all life. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN   

In this podcast, Eckhart talks about the spiritual evolution of humanity. He says our development is far from finished. In fact, he says it coincides with the transformation of all life on Earth. Collectively, we are on the way to awakening, but we haven’t arrived yet. Eckhart asks: what does it mean to be awake?  In spiritual terms, he says it’s reaching that deeper dimension of ourselves that is higher than thinking. He believes it’s the secret behind all spiritual teachings. Both Buddha and Jesus described this state of heightened awareness. Eckhart says we will find it when we relinquish our so-called normal state of consciousness which he describes as a relentless stream of compulsive thinking. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPods  You can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN   

Original Air Date: May 21, 2021Eckhart Tolle answers questions about how to deal with our fears, especially when confronted with a crisis. He says we can’t take intelligent action when we’re gripped with anxiety. When the world threatens to overwhelm us, what’s needed is wisdom, looking at the totality of the situation, not just one aspect of the problem. Eckhart says we must free ourselves of the negative thinking that accompanies fear and align ourselves with the vertical or transcendent dimension. That is where we will find our answers.Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN  

Original Air Date: May 21, 2021Eckhart Tolle delves into a topic that is taboo for many of us…and that is the subject of Death. In the Western world, Eckhart says denial and the fear of death has prevailed for centuries. However, due to the pandemic, collectively we’ve been forced to confront death on a scale we haven’t seen since the last century. Eckhart says Death has much to teach us. And he also gives us hope. There is more to the larger workings of the Universe than is visible to the eye. He says there is a much deeper dimension to who we are…one that never dies. If we can get in touch with that transcendent aspect of ourselves, our fear of death will ultimately disappear.Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN   

Original Air Date: May 21, 2021Eckhart Tolle elaborates on the paradox of order and chaos that exists in our world. For many of us, especially this past year, living through the pandemic has wreaked havoc on our lives. We’ve experienced loss of socializing, income and perhaps the loss of someone we love.  While we might be tempted to despair, Eckhart says order and chaos are an essential part of a higher order. He says there are larger forces at work in the Universe and if we can surrender to that, life’s challenges have the potential to transform our consciousness.Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPodsYou can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN