I love him. Reading his book "The Power of Now" and watching his videos has helped me deal with my grief. My daughter passed away March 4th. Trying not to think either in the past or the future and concentrating in the now, has allowed me to take care of my little grandaughters cheerfully. They get the best of me. THANK YOU Mr. Eckhart Tolle !
A very important speech in understanding ego, evolution and consciousness. You are invited to read it again in written format. Enjoy. Although from a certain perspective the ego may look quite insane, from a higher perspective it is no more than part of the evolutionary process. its a stage in the evolution.and as we are approaching the next stage in the evolution, we are beginning to see that the ego has completely outlived its usefulness but it had it’s usefulness and only now we are beginning to see that it is insane because we are approaching the next stage in human evolution. Before nobody could see that the ego was insane although except the very rare, great masters. The Buddha already said, its an illusion, Jesus said, deny thy self which means recognize the unreality of the ego but nobody really understood what they said, they were kind of precursors of the next step, they were pointing to it before it actually became a true awakening on the planet. So from our present perspective, because we are at the end of one evolutionary stage, the ego looks totally absurd once you see what it is and how much havoc it has created, but from a higher perspective, it’s part of the evolution of reality, without it, there could not be what is called awakening or enlightenment, ultimately. So its fine, in your own life you could see how much you had to go through, ignorance in your own life, i mean not in terms of the sense of lack of education but spiritual ignorance not knowing who essentially you are and making so many mistakes on the basis of illusory ego identity and you can see it now - and you had to go through it. There was once, most likely, humanity that once had not had an ego yet and that perhaps is captured in the myths which you find in many cultures that didn't even have contact with each other, the myth of the golden age, when humans lived in harmony with each other, and in harmony with nature, and life was easy. And that myth points to, probably, the fact that a long long time ago humans lived in “Onement”, at a sense of oneness with nature and surroundings and the ego hadn't developed yet and that, perhaps became later survived, and the memory of it survived, as the myth of the golden age, which of course is expressed in the old testament, as paradise. It’s just one aspect of the myth of the golden age, when life was easy. and then something happened. The faaall, whatever you want to call it, it happened, and then, the ugliness came in and that of course was the beginning of human ability to think! Which at first was a miraculous thing, thinking suddenly happened. Some anthropologists are telling us, and I believe they're right,when thinking first began to happen in humans, human were very surprised, and they thought that some god was talking to them in their head, and so because thoughts suddenly came, part of it of course was the development of language, and so language started to happen in peoples heads. “what’s/who’s talking?!?! and they acted on it often, the thought came and then they did it! kill this man (then Eckhart gestures killing a man) - the enemy, the other tribe, they're not human that's what the voice is telling me. So the voice in the head, language, internalized, was miraculous and made many things possible that wouldn't be without it, knowledge arising, you can transmit knowledge... Civilization as we know it wouldn't have happened without that, transmission of knowledge, architecture, philosophy starts… all these things to do with conceptual knowledge arising, all these things, a miraculous thing. a strange thing, and then over the millennia, the voice became so alls pervasive that it took over people’s sense of identity whereas before, for a long time probably, after the arising of thinking, people still had a sense of rootedness in being, a natural sense of rootedness in the depth of their being, and gradually over a millennia, they got drawn more and more into the thinking mode of their heads. the whole sense of identity was no longer rooted in the depths of their being but in the voice in the head. But it made many things possible. And now the next step in the evolution is a return to the pre-egoic stage with the added dimension of consciously knowing your connectedness with the One, whereas before, they were connected with the one without even knowing it. It was a natural state of connectedness, but as we go beyond ego, we now knowingly return to the One consciously and thats the next stage. So its not a regressive step, in some sense we go back to the golden age (one could almost say) but knowing. And thats expressed of course in the ancient parable of what in the bible is called the prodigal son, The son leaves his father’s home, says give me your inheritance and goes abroad to a distant country, squanders all your wealth and becomes destitute, and then the message comes from the father and the father send the messenger: “come back home, come back to me”, and then the son begins to remember, who he is. and then he comes back to the fathers home and as the parable says. “is loved more deeply than loved before”, theres a deeper and added -- once, first you lose it, and you cannot ever lose it completely, you can't, otherwise you wouldn't even exist, but then you return, and you return, and when you return to it there's an added, theres a depth to it, of knowing, and thats where we are destined to go, And so once we realize that we are actually grateful to the ego, well because it was part of the journey. :)
Liad Raz this guy has zero understanding of anything ego is always the case untill there is absolute 7th stage sahaja samadhi he seems from observation to be largely mentally fixated and not living as the body hence notice his constant eyes flickering he does well to try help ppl but its not a true in depth understanding of the nature of fear and self he talks of noticing fear always if he was spiritually adept in tge shakti he will not notice fear he wont notice anger sorrow or any qualities associated with the body mind brain complex i wish him well but he has much to learn
It was the pain caused by ego that brought me to the gift of desperation , which led me down the path of enlightenment ........standing at the precipice I chose change............namaste
This is so brilliant. I just sit, listen and grin at him. His take on things is approached with such gentle kindness. He listens so purely and openly and without judgement not only to us with our questions, but to his own consciousness. He's such a great example and teacher for this age of transitions. And what a fun guy!
In order to begin to embrace "enlightenment," one must be willing to be comfortable with paradoxes. The mind does not like paradoxes; it requires everything to be laid out nice and neat. This keeps one's understanding of Truth firmly lodged in the intellect; where true understanding cannot be discerned. Being willing to let go of one's mind as Truth, and being willing to surrender one's so-called knowledge into the unknown, into a place of surrender, will eventually open up vistas iwithin you of incredible wisdom and deep discernment that nothing at all to do with thought. You simply transcend the mind.
Dear friends, I had a major epiphany today. The words I came up with were: "The ego is a surrogate soul" It's function is to jump in when our true self is not out in the open or congruent with our evironment, which is 99% of the time with 99% of people. It jumps in because we still need some sort of consciousness or awereness, being an intelligent species, in order to even 'exist', when our true self is not seeing and shining through all the paradigms of social conditioning our ego views reality through. I have been walking around all day seeing strait through people's eyes, looking right at their ego, their sense of self, and worldviews, it seems. It is also clear to me now that society is rigged against what I'm feeling right now, and I will lose it as I have lost it before. We live in a society that makes sense to our ego's. Please let me know what you think, I haven't felt this good in years!
Now, the next step in the evolution is a return to the pre-egoic state with an added dimension of consciously knowing your connectedness with the one😍👍😍
Yes, that makes sense to me now. This also means we should not see the ego as something inherently evil, but rather as a necesary part of our evolution. Afterall, without the ego there would be no thoughts, emotions or desires, we would still be like plants and animals who are one with nature but cant be aware of it.
Once I hated ego, did everything possible to kill my ego....But after 1 year of ego death, I realized that human ego is the the cutest thing among all creations.... The teachings in this vid resonates with my personal experience..
Developmentally speaking, the ego must develop, have its time and then given up. This process has been noted and researched by transpersonal psychologist Jack Engler, who said: "...you have to be somebody before you are nobody. People who do not develop a healthy ego as a young child can become extremely unhealthy adults. What many call a "big ego" is actually an unhealthy, undeveloped one. If the developmental tasks are met, and a healthy ego is cultivated, it can be let go of later in life.
Thats what many culturaly preserved innitiation rituals and ceremonys from all around the world are about. Many ancient cultures knew that the ego is just one step thowards growing up. Its the initiation into the secret of the illusory nature of the ego. In our western "culture" we only have some left over remnants of these rituals deprived of their original meaning. But hey we have many industries and stuff to buy and fill in the big void created and fostered by an ego-driven-capitalistic system. :)
Based on my experience from age 18 to 35, my ego has made suggestions to me and I listened. Tolle ends by saying, be grateful for the ego because it was part of the journey. Well, I almost died a bunch listening to my ego. Today, I have tools to counter my ego and it's not easy, but at least I remain teachable. Today, I have a much better life and can counter my ego. I'm more aware.
Beautifully said Eckhart! We have our ego's to thank for our return to father, or the conscious evolution of man back to the golden age. The prodigal son needed to experience the full wrath of the egos unsatisfactory, shallow and painful nature, in order for him to come back home. The ego is insane: It likes to do the same insane thing over and over again but expecting different results. When that tires us out, brings us to our knees, we surrender, awakening happens! :-).
Thank you Eckhart, with your advices, your life philosophy I am becoming happy and happier with the simplicity of truth life. I call you “Peace Revolutionary Being”. I live spontaneously & communicate spontaneously with people who enjoy my presence. What my essence is can not be spoken or written with words. Thanks to my son Markus who introduced me to you. Namaste Eckhart.
i connected with one, but the ego world was destroying me, people around me are very egotistical in order to not be psychologically damaged i started to develop an ego in myself to defend myself of that destructive world, now at least i have control of what this ego is and i hope to be able to come back to a safe connection with all
The movie "Being John Malkovich" must be the best representation of the Ego that I've seen, is like we think we are someone until we realize that the person that we though we were is just someone else (the Ego) running our lives, but we only see this once the Ego is gone
Dude I totally agree. I go to christian church and I come from a Zen background and I have noticed radical changes in the church in my year of attending, except there are a lot of egoic things about it. It is definitely dissolving. All my stereotypes I thought about religion and christianity was somewhat proven to have relativistic perspective. I think it is changing for sure though.
i've wondered if those who are more inclined to cooperate with each other in a more intrinsically understanding way, are more evolved than those who are self centered and in constant competitive relationships with others. it's almost like some of us are past the bs we see in some others and realize something more.
The ego as a tool to recognize the oneness where we are deeply planted. We are naturally still, but KNOWING it adds something pretty incredible to it. Thank you for this video.
Ego is our sense of indviduality and boundaries. It is necessary in a way. People who constantly talk about giving up the ego are in an ironic way make that part of their own ego
The Ego is a tool, like fire, the wheel, a hammer. It developed as a survival mechanism and it is necessary to navigate the current terrain of reality. We're antennas - we pick up thoughts around us. This is not an evil, nor is the Ego. Identifying with it and believing it is the only truth is the evil - not the Ego itself. I don't believe the Ego will go away, but rather become merely a tool that is used when needed and put down when not needed.
Oh God..Thank you Echkart and the man who asks this great question.. I got the answer which my mind was longing for. And now it's dissolved & the mind is surrendered. God bless :)
By the way, in the story of the prodigal son the father didn't send a messenger for his son to come home, as Eckhart suggested. The son was fed up with suffering, came to his senses and decided to go home, be it in a anxious and guilty mood. All the way home, his ego was still in place because of his guild and his fear. He thought his father would not accept him because of his 'big mistake'. It wasn't untill he actually met with his father and surrendered to his will that he learned his guild and fear were outplaced and he was met with only love. I suppose that is the moment the ego subsides.
The ego is the idea that an emotion, thought, or other reaction which arises in the consciousness, is the self, or part of self. it is the mind that identifies with the things it believes in,. which is why if i insult your football team, you get angry, because you consider things to be 'if he doesnt like my favourite team, then he doesnt like me' because you identify with the tram as being something of yours.. anger and suffering and unskilful actions and reactions happen out of that.. bad karma, and unenlightened existence
That chime at the beginning made me feel spiritually awakened and my belief in the universe as some sort of giving entity makes me feel like I have control over that which I do not. I subscribe to narratives made by people that seek to explain the unanswerable questions of life. It makes me feel safe.
The ego is our greatest teacher, it is what leads us to strive towards rediscovery of our true self. Without it we would still be walking round in loin cloths carrying clubs and grunting to eachother.
I have experienced that. I actually stopped myself becoming an adult. I was torn and every year felt worse and worse. When I turned 22 I realised that I don´t want to live like that anymore. I made a decision to face the "truth". This last year seems like a blur to me. It´s like I came back home after a long long time. The difference is I did it on purpose. :)
Eckhart Tolle has millions of followers. I am certainly one of his fans. There are universal laws of death, rebirth and stages of growth . What is true of the grain of wheat is true of the universe. Tolle speaks to that growth
Who is "torturing or killing ourselves"? Personally I don't believe in fashion or doing what is fashionable. I just appreciate Tolle for having very simply revealed an easy way to view what the artifically manufactured "self" (ego, as he calls it) is doing to us as humans and as interactors with other humans...always competing against each other, not as in games or sports but in life in general. The ego wants to want, more keenly than it wants to have. Man that is deep....and true IMHO
I came to the conclusion we need ego to gain contrast between our higher and lower self, Yin Yang, dark needs light, positive needs negative, its up to us " Consciousness " to find the balance, just as water flows around a rock.. We don't resist and force things.
Suggestion: when you are born, you are born with or without an ego. Having an ego means that you know your limitations, and always try to challenge them
Thank you Eckhart for expressing this timeless wisdom. My pondering on the subject: That which is often defined as the Higher Self or the Divine Self and the Ego is no more or less a part of consciousness than that which we normally attribute to our consciousness. The separation is an illusion. It would be better to conceptualize it as a rainbow. Many of the colors or visual wavelengths may seem separate from one another, but upon closer examination it is impossible to find any true division from red to orange to yellow etc...I found the Kybalion very helpful at expressing Buddhist and Taoist philosophy in a manner that satisfies the western mind.
So glad I found him. I thought I was the only one who came to these thoughts ... Nice to see I am not alone! I have to add: There is the thought in every mind telling You that You are weak - it is the root of the Ego and it tries to bind You to it. Do not listen! It is nonsense - humans are neither weak nor strong, forget that! We are just ourselves trying to make the best of our lifes!
We are coming back home with a new ability, from now, transcend the ego is part of the awareness. I wonder what will be the awareness factor on the next cycle.
In regards to Ego as an evolutionary phase I'm reminded of an idea Ken Wilber uses that of~ transcend and include. We by natures design occupy an absolutely unique perspective...this uniqueness in relationship is what makes life creative from genetics to artistic invention. I think transcending but including ego may be a more reasonable expectation.
All I know for sure if that if you are having negative, sinking, or uneasy feelings about the Ego, you're doing it wrong. Love the Ego. It's a part of you... not some energetic source that's foreign to you or the universe! "We Are All One" includes your ego, and true Love embraces it and loves the games it plays!
There's nothing fundamentally wrong with ego. It has many positive functions in our lives and is a part of us. The Buddha (and other Enlightened men) didn't try to eliminate ego; he wanted humans to see through the illusion that it projected. We always come back to the ego--it's never fully gone. What changes with Enlightenment is that we no longer believe in ego as an ultimate reality (independent "thing") and as the most important part of our lives. It's just a form or perspective that consciousness takes. A good analogy for this concept is the lap. Could you imagine being seated your whole life and regarding the lap (ego) as your most prized possession--decorating it and worshipping it (building up ego and organizing your life around it)? Then, someone comes along and tells you that there's more. That person encourages you to stand (egolessness) and helps you see that the lap is just a form, not a real "thing". Once you learn to stand you realize that not only is the lap not an ultimate reality but that it was actually the source of your confinement as you were confined to one space/perspective your whole life. The standing individual now has the freedom to explore and enjoy his/her reality without the constraint of being seated but can choose to sit and return to the lap whenever he/she wants (Enlightenment).
I agree with you one thousand percent...ego is a tool. it is the brain. we need it to function but we should NOT let it take over the entire body...always stay in balance (spirit/energy-ego/brain-body)
I have a question for eckhart and anyone who might be able to offer any insight: if the ego first came to humans in the form of thought, then how about intuition? Because a lot of times intuition is also a soft voice ... So did those ancient humans not have an intuition prior to developing an ego either? Upon the connection with thought..what arouse first? Ego or intuition. Or was intuition that was always there? But not communicate in the form of a voice?
Successful education. Successful relationships. Successful play. Great art. Success in a career. A family. Pride in your family and children. Hygiene. On and on it goes. And your argument is the same as saying "The only thing you have to achieve is realizing you are not your leg".
Ego is a manifestation of the conscious language we all use to communicate. Let words dissolve into a self awareness of ones spoken word, then the frequency of a language wave form, will only impact the selectively deaf ears of an awakened man.
The bible has described the ego as the "flesh" and "at war with the spirit"... This a strange part of believing in a loving Father who created the possibility of you turning yourself into an ego maniac.. This video has really helped lessen the cynicism in my perspective in that area.
But do ascended masters (awakened people) really have an ego? Identification with your thoughts is ego, but if a person does not identify with his thoughts, the ego cannot exist (which it doesn't in any true way anyway). Of course the ego is persistant, so it will try to "come back" when it gets the chance. But someone who is truly enlightened is his true self: the observer, who recognizes thoughts for what they are: thoughts. We who have not reached that true state yet, are constantly living in an illusion. An illusion which creates suffering for us in order to transcend through it.
Sydebern Ego exists, and remains to be 'managed'. When a person is awake, they recognize all things happen in equal measure-good, bad, or indifferent. One key: to acknowledge each of those equally, not allow emotions to hype either way; not allow events to steer one's direction unduly, for instance. Ego in control screams hyped emotions, derailing our best efforts: be able to know the feelings exist, be thankful for them, not let those rule. Allow thoughts, but not Need to dwell in them, strive for a quiet mind, which is more available to use when actually needed, as the tool kit it is.
Sydebern ALL who dwell in this existence have Ego. We couldn't be in this dichotomous world without it. It is not so much about 'losing' ego, as it is learning to put it in its place, controlled.
Sounds like Owen Barfield's idea of original and final participation. Steiner says the same thing that the ego was needed and materialism was needed and we are in the process of moving beyond them.
The universe never makes a mistake. It knows what it was doing. If you didn't have an ego you couldn't be held responsible for making a conscious effort or not
This talk made me laugh, it reminds me of when your a child and cant wait to grow up. because when were children we are ignorant to the hardships and struggles of life. Then when we do grow up we want to be a child again in our old rooms with no responsibility's just chilling out, but with the knowledge we have now. Instead we get old and hope are children can quickly & fully comprehend the things its taken us so long to learn and understand so they can enjoy life without their own thoughts and feelings getting in the way of their happiness. I can see a process we as a human race are going through and maybe its not for any reason, It could just be to experience it.
I agree with Eckhart. The ego is a normal part of our "mental/emotional survival package" within our consciousness, as we work to navigate, as separate (often competing) individuals, through the inherent difficulties of this unforgiving physical reality/environment. The ego has served its purpose because it has enabled us to survive. But at this point in human history, with a massive overpopulation problem looming and the ability to destroy ourselves hundreds of times over, etc., ego is going to be the end of the "human experiment" if we can't grow beyond it. Cheers.
Those are a few things that the ego forces us all to do to avoid being rejected and alone. The ego's ONLY purpose is to avoid the lonliness that it has created for iteslf by needing something from the outside to validate it.
Once the ‘I want/need’ within us (at its most powerful and self serving at birth ‘I want food/warmth/love’ and to reproduce ‘I want to make a baby/I want you to love me’) has diminished, the ego (I want/need) can be discarded and transcended into the new space of enlightenment. The love, if we are nurtured correctly, we feel in our early years will sustain us when we truly need it in later life (addiction recovery/strength through illness/disease/procreation and falling in love). The ego initiated this love from our caregivers, it is a life force at times of desperation but we must learn when to discard it with its excessive nature. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean we should use it. It’s there to get us through the important bits but after that it is excess.
Tolle's alright. He might not be saying anything "heavy" or "original", which apparently is so important for some people, but what he's saying is true and good. Whether it will be useful, and how, well, that might be in the ear of the listener.
the energy that represents his being is wise full of love and lighthearted with humor,, that how i would like to live among my loved ones,, thanks for being a friend,, eckie bruv,..!
The ego is NOT insane. It has a reason to exist. It is a tool that has to be used properly. The problem is an unhealthy ego. A healthy ego just serves to preserve a reasonable personal space. Example: You are riding the train. There is a lovely older lady engaging you in conversation. She is quite engaging. But suddenly, you become aware that you need to go to the loo. You might not want to "offend" the lady, but your priority right now, and correctly so, it to take care of your immediate need. That is when a "healthy" ago comes in. You still need to be sufficiently assertive to properly excuse yourself and do you have to do. It´s all a question of proportion.
I love his simplicity, his way of communicating people can relate to. However, something is amiss in E.T. understanding of mans evolution to a higher consciousness and a freedom from our ego. Gurdjieff and Spinoza truly explain how human nature works and the necessity of our ego. Gurdjieff talks about the ego and the essence and Spinoza talks about reason and intuition which are the higher levels of knowledge. So, it really take an immense mental effort to understand how human nature works.
so you have the knowledge, but not yet wisdom. But I guess we're going there, right? To the promised "land"? The clock is ticking? Death is closer and closer? Well I personally like to think that if I won't make it to the promised land in this life, I certainly will in the time of death. That would be correct.. I am recalling all the Jesus' teachings and his allegories of heaven (which comes after death) atm. It is just so sad seeing people today living their lifes believing in the misconception. I am talking about Catholic church right now. It similar to the situation when u use sarcasm and people take it literally. ITS FUCKING FRUSTRATING ISN'T IT. If it is indeed a process in human evolution, we need to get through it asap. I do not even know why am I writing this. Maybe this IS a collective mind manifesting Itself, or maybe just an ego trying to do its thing.. It is really hard to tell isn't it.
hope you are not using his information just to create illusion of being awake and to keep procrastinating from living his teachings try to implement something in your life :) knowing without experience is ... hollow.
+EyesOfTheLion 11 It is amazing. Eckhart does a great service in these teachings. He flipped my like a pancake about 15 years ago. Now I recognize this is all we are here for, this is all we do, evolve in consciousness. The rest are meaningless details by comparison.
What about someone who thinks they are conscious and everyone else hasn't arrived yet? Now, that's ego! The entire spiritual pursuit is the most self-centered activity on the planet.
I Think the most egoistical persons try to admit they have big ego to hide it easily. And it may be a trick to think your superior to others but in fact your are not because ego is hinding behind this achievment of admiting you have no ego. Sorry im french
*+Sydebern* *"Try instead of 'who am i?' 'am i aware?'. This cannot be claimed by the mind. The mind will try to find an answer, but it can't."* By asking "am I aware?", I have to use knowledge to answer it. If I ask myself that question and am unable to generate a response, the question is then false. I can only ask myself that question by assuming that i don't know that I am aware and that it has to be somehow proven through thought. *"You will know it if you pay attention. If you recognize the feeling of simply being yourself, next time try to not identify with the next thought."* But the knolwedge is still there. I can get into a state where I don't indentify with my thoughts. All that happens is that thoughts begin to simply arise and vanish, and operate on their own accord. And when those thought become calm, all that is left are the senses themselves functioning. The sound of the ocean, the warm breeze, the cool sand, the blue sky. Extra-curricular thought can subside, but the mind is still there. It knows that this is the sound of the ocean, this is the breeze and that is a blue sky. It is very peaceful, but it is still within the framework of thought, knowledge, memory. Where is the eternal awareness? I don't see anything eternal here. One bullet to the head and any idea or experience I have of awareness being eternal is gone for good. *"No. The self only experiences now, since it is the now. Nothing tells a "you" that the stove is hot. There is no you and there is no stove. There is only the experience of feeling heat/pain. "You" (thought) are projecting the time-based mind (thought) onto awareness."* Yet you know that what is burning your hand is the hot stove. You know that that is your hand burning and not your butt cheeks burning because that knowledge is stored as memory and you know that a hot stove is burning that hand because the sensation of heat/pain is also stored as memory. Is that knolwedge not there for you? Do you not know that your hand just got severely burnt by the red hot stove top? *"Of course, i am conditioned with words like 'bothered'. Even when recognizing who you are and abiding as that, there is a lifetime of conditioning to get rid off, which is just habit. Perhaps, the rest of the life of the physical body there will be remnants of it."* How can anything be experienced without conditioning? That conditioning is the physical make-up of each unique individual human organism and the wiring of each unique brain. We can use thought to alter thinking and behavior to bring about a change for the better, but that is also a conditioning. Even the meditative state is a conditioning, You generally have to meditate for so long to condition/rewire the brain to produce that state more and more until hopefully one day it is continuous, but that is also conditioning. Conditioning isn't inherently bad or something that needs ot be done away with. Conditioning helps us to learn and survive in an existence where life must brutally feed on other life for continuity. It helps us communicate and it expresses our uniqueness. If we want to survive, we better have the physical capacity to become conditioned. Thankfully conditioning happens automatically as the brain grows and develops. What kind of conditioning are you referring to? Like the bad habit of smoking or always getting involved with the wrong kind of people? Who is the one trying to get rid of any kind of conditioning? That movement to get rid of conditioning is the new conditioning. *"Awareness indeed doesn't bother with anything. It doesn't want anything, its nature is peace/happiness/love. It doesn't know anything else"* I can understand that it's nature is peace, because if you remove the idea/thought/thinking/knowledge that separates man from the rest of nature, then he is automtaically in harmony with it. No conflict is left, just the continuous movement of life - a single movement. But bringing "love" and "happiness" into it is a projection of a human desire. Why would it love itself? What do you mean by that? *"Only if you belief that you are in this body you will think that awareness needs this body to exist."* I don't believe that it "needs" this body to exist or that it exists "within it". It cannot be separated from the physical organism itself. Is the one that is reading my post right now independent of the physical organism? *"What really is our experience? Really inquire into this. Without any imagination or intellectual knowledge from the past, do you know anything about your direct perception of your world?"* How can I inquire without bringing the intellect or the past into it? My direct perception is simply what my senses are physically gathering right now. I don't have to think to experience any of that, it is automatically occuring. The stove is hot. Somehow I know that it is my hand that is burning, not my foot. Somehow I know that I am feeling pain, not pleasure. I don't have to do or think about anything to know/experience these kinds of things. To me, that is the only kind of direct experience. Everything else is an indirect experience. For instance, you and I will both cry if a loved one dies. Neither of us are reacting to the physical death of our loved one, otheriwse we would start crying at the exact moment of death, but that is never the case. The both of us only start crying when the knowledge that our loved one died "takes it's birth" in us. I'm saying one that is living from moment to moment will not cry when someone dies. He will only be the observer to the knowledge, not the one that experiences that knowledge and thus begins to cry and grieve. We really don't want to be free, we really don't want to become the witness, we really don't want to live from moment to moment, because then we will look at our own mothers, our own fathers, our own children and aside from the knowledge that tells us "that is my father", there will be nobody there to experience that. If you are just the Self, then attachment of any kind can only falsify that Self. The death of our own children will be seen as nothing but a fact, not experienced, and there is no way in hell we would give up that kind of attachment. No way in hell. We want to be falsified in some ways. We are not ready to really let go and truly live from momnet to moment.
From every thing I've heard him say in several of these videos, his teaching is very similar, if not the same as A Course In Miracles. I wouldn't be surprised to learn he is well versed in the Course, although I've never heard him mention it.
The ego is a perspective on live.Every human being has his/her unique perspective.It adds to the consciousnes of humanity.It is just that we are too busy being the ego and forget(are enslaved) that we are consciousness,all part of one.
When we move from linear consciousness, we no longer need to define. If the linear mind can understand it, then ego has created illusion. In the awakening stage, we let go of our attachments to the illusion of reality, and we observe it as it for what it is, without judgment. Namaste
That is exactly correct. That is one myth that people have erroneously propagated lately with regards to the ego. You don't die when the ego dies.......you live. To say otherwise is to be tricked by the ego itself.
'Being spiritual may give life deeper meaning but it can also mess up your mind, research suggests. 'A study found that people professing to be spiritual, but not conventionally religious, were more likely to suffer from a host of mental challenges.' Article in my local paper 2012.
but didn't the old shamans already know that thousands of years ago. For example. The societiy of toltecs were built of that knowing. they were connected to the one and had the conciousness of knowing that they were connected.
This man is the reason I am alive today. I was a bad sufferer of anxiety and his book (Creating a new earth) really helped me.
I love him. Reading his book "The Power of Now" and watching his videos has helped me deal with my grief. My daughter passed away March 4th.
Trying not to think either in the past or the future and concentrating in the now, has allowed me to take care of my little grandaughters cheerfully. They get the best of me. THANK YOU Mr. Eckhart Tolle !
An incredibly profound summary of the human journey in just over 9 minutes.
A very important speech in understanding ego, evolution and consciousness. You are invited to read it again in written format. Enjoy.
Although from a certain perspective the ego may look quite insane, from a higher perspective it is no more than part of the evolutionary process. its a stage in the evolution.and as we are approaching the next stage in the evolution, we are beginning to see that the ego has completely outlived its usefulness but it had it’s usefulness and only now we are beginning to see that it is insane because we are approaching the next stage in human evolution. Before nobody could see that the ego was insane although except the very rare, great masters. The Buddha already said, its an illusion, Jesus said, deny thy self which means recognize the unreality of the ego but nobody really understood what they said, they were kind of precursors of the next step, they were pointing to it before it actually became a true awakening on the planet. So from our present perspective, because we are at the end of one evolutionary stage, the ego looks totally absurd once you see what it is and how much havoc it has created, but from a higher perspective, it’s part of the evolution of reality, without it, there could not be what is called awakening or enlightenment, ultimately. So its fine, in your own life you could see how much you had to go through, ignorance in your own life, i mean not in terms of the sense of lack of education but spiritual ignorance not knowing who essentially you are and making so many mistakes on the basis of illusory ego identity and you can see it now - and you had to go through it.
There was once, most likely, humanity that once had not had an ego yet and that perhaps is captured in the myths which you find in many cultures that didn't even have contact with each other, the myth of the golden age, when humans lived in harmony with each other, and in harmony with nature, and life was easy. And that myth points to, probably, the fact that a long long time ago humans lived in “Onement”, at a sense of oneness with nature and surroundings and the ego hadn't developed yet and that, perhaps became later survived, and the memory of it survived, as the myth of the golden age, which of course is expressed in the old testament, as paradise. It’s just one aspect of the myth of the golden age, when life was easy. and then something happened. The faaall, whatever you want to call it, it happened, and then, the ugliness came in and that of course was the beginning of human ability to think! Which at first was a miraculous thing, thinking suddenly happened. Some anthropologists are telling us, and I believe they're right,when thinking first began to happen in humans, human were very surprised, and they thought that some god was talking to them in their head, and so because thoughts suddenly came, part of it of course was the development of language, and so language started to happen in peoples heads. “what’s/who’s talking?!?! and they acted on it often, the thought came and then they did it! kill this man (then Eckhart gestures killing a man) - the enemy, the other tribe, they're not human that's what the voice is telling me. So the voice in the head, language, internalized, was miraculous and made many things possible that wouldn't be without it, knowledge arising, you can transmit knowledge... Civilization as we know it wouldn't have happened without that, transmission of knowledge, architecture, philosophy starts… all these things to do with conceptual knowledge arising, all these things, a miraculous thing. a strange thing, and then over the millennia, the voice became so alls pervasive that it took over people’s sense of identity whereas before, for a long time probably, after the arising of thinking, people still had a sense of rootedness in being, a natural sense of rootedness in the depth of their being, and gradually over a millennia, they got drawn more and more into the thinking mode of their heads. the whole sense of identity was no longer rooted in the depths of their being but in the voice in the head. But it made many things possible. And now the next step in the evolution is a return to the pre-egoic stage with the added dimension of consciously knowing your connectedness with the One, whereas before, they were connected with the one without even knowing it. It was a natural state of connectedness, but as we go beyond ego, we now knowingly return to the One consciously and thats the next stage. So its not a regressive step, in some sense we go back to the golden age (one could almost say) but knowing. And thats expressed of course in the ancient parable of what in the bible is called the prodigal son, The son leaves his father’s home, says give me your inheritance and goes abroad to a distant country, squanders all your wealth and becomes destitute, and then the message comes from the father and the father send the messenger: “come back home, come back to me”, and then the son begins to remember, who he is. and then he comes back to the fathers home and as the parable says. “is loved more deeply than loved before”, theres a deeper and added -- once, first you lose it, and you cannot ever lose it completely, you can't, otherwise you wouldn't even exist, but then you return, and you return, and when you return to it there's an added, theres a depth to it, of knowing, and thats where we are destined to go, And so once we realize that we are actually grateful to the ego, well because it was part of the journey. :)
+Liad Raz thank you! :)
Thank you so much .
Or in a nutshell, Ego is in the human psyche so that we can be enlightened.
Perhaps they had Voice to Skull technology and a Ray Kurzweil by another name in ancient times?
Liad Raz this guy has zero understanding of anything ego is always the case untill there is absolute 7th stage sahaja samadhi he seems from observation to be largely mentally fixated and not living as the body hence notice his constant eyes flickering he does well to try help ppl but its not a true in depth understanding of the nature of fear and self he talks of noticing fear always if he was spiritually adept in tge shakti he will not notice fear he wont notice anger sorrow or any qualities associated with the body mind brain complex i wish him well but he has much to learn
It was the pain caused by ego that brought me to the gift of desperation , which led me down the path of enlightenment ........standing at the precipice I chose change............namaste
This is so brilliant. I just sit, listen and grin at him. His take on things is approached with such gentle kindness. He listens so purely and openly and without judgement not only to us with our questions, but to his own consciousness. He's such a great example and teacher for this age of transitions. And what a fun guy!
Ego soars here with my soul
At certain times
It takes control
I see it there
And set it straight
Until all that's left is
One
In order to begin to embrace "enlightenment," one must be willing to be comfortable with paradoxes. The mind does not like paradoxes; it requires everything to be laid out nice and neat. This keeps one's understanding of Truth firmly lodged in the intellect; where true understanding cannot be discerned. Being willing to let go of one's mind as Truth, and being willing to surrender one's so-called knowledge into the unknown, into a place of surrender, will eventually open up vistas iwithin you of incredible wisdom and deep discernment that nothing at all to do with thought. You simply transcend the mind.
Dear friends,
I had a major epiphany today.
The words I came up with were:
"The ego is a surrogate soul"
It's function is to jump in when our true self is not out in the open or congruent with our evironment, which is 99% of the time with 99% of people. It jumps in because we still need some sort of consciousness or awereness, being an intelligent species, in order to even 'exist', when our true self is not seeing and shining through all the paradigms of social conditioning our ego views reality through.
I have been walking around all day seeing strait through people's eyes, looking right at their ego, their sense of self, and worldviews, it seems.
It is also clear to me now that society is rigged against what I'm feeling right now, and I will lose it as I have lost it before. We live in a society that makes sense to our ego's.
Please let me know what you think,
I haven't felt this good in years!
Now, the next step in the evolution is a return to the pre-egoic state with an added dimension of consciously knowing your connectedness with the one😍👍😍
Yes, that makes sense to me now. This also means we should not see the ego as something inherently evil, but rather as a necesary part of our evolution. Afterall, without the ego there would be no thoughts, emotions or desires, we would still be like plants and animals who are one with nature but cant be aware of it.
@@pedrogm2640 could you be mixing up the ego with the brain?
Connor McKenzie...in your example, that would be the mother.
My ego has gotten me into so much trouble in the past. Thanks for the message
Once I hated ego, did everything possible to kill my ego....But after 1 year of ego death, I realized that human ego is the the cutest thing among all creations....
The teachings in this vid resonates with my personal experience..
_...you believe that without the ego, all would be chaos. Yet I assure you that without the ego, all would be love._ A Course in Miracles T-15.V.1:6
Developmentally speaking, the ego must develop, have its time and then given up. This process has been noted and researched by transpersonal psychologist Jack Engler, who said: "...you have to be somebody before you are nobody. People who do not develop a healthy ego as a young child can become extremely unhealthy adults. What many call a "big ego" is actually an unhealthy, undeveloped one. If the developmental tasks are met, and a healthy ego is cultivated, it can be let go of later in life.
Well said, thank you. Osho said that before losing the ego one must first attain it. Thats pretty similar to what you just wrote.
You have to be somebody before you are nobody!!!
Thats what many culturaly preserved innitiation rituals and ceremonys from all around the world are about. Many ancient cultures knew that the ego is just one step thowards growing up. Its the initiation into the secret of the illusory nature of the ego.
In our western "culture" we only have some left over remnants of these rituals deprived of their original meaning. But hey we have many industries and stuff to buy and fill in the big void created and fostered by an ego-driven-capitalistic system. :)
Based on my experience from age 18 to 35, my ego has made suggestions to me and I listened. Tolle ends by saying, be grateful for the ego because it was part of the journey. Well, I almost died a bunch listening to my ego. Today, I have tools to counter my ego and it's not easy, but at least I remain teachable. Today, I have a much better life and can counter my ego. I'm more aware.
what are your methods to counter the ego?
Yes. The way forward is often a step back. This goes for so many things.
Beautifully said Eckhart! We have our ego's to thank for our return to father, or the conscious evolution of man back to the golden age. The prodigal son needed to experience the full wrath of the egos unsatisfactory, shallow and painful nature, in order for him to come back home. The ego is insane: It likes to do the same insane thing over and over again but expecting different results. When that tires us out, brings us to our knees, we surrender, awakening happens! :-).
Thank you Eckhart, with your advices, your
life philosophy I am becoming happy and happier with the simplicity of truth life. I call you “Peace Revolutionary Being”.
I live spontaneously & communicate spontaneously with people who enjoy my presence. What my essence is can not be spoken or written with words.
Thanks to my son Markus who introduced me to you. Namaste Eckhart.
i connected with one, but the ego world was destroying me, people around me are very egotistical in order to not be psychologically damaged i started to develop an ego in myself to defend myself of that destructive world, now at least i have control of what this ego is and i hope to be able to come back to a safe connection with all
That actually makes sense. One of the most intriguing theories I've ever heard.
The movie "Being John Malkovich" must be the best representation of the Ego that I've seen, is like we think we are someone until we realize that the person that we though we were is just someone else (the Ego) running our lives, but we only see this once the Ego is gone
I'm crying right now. This video is life-changing.
Alex indeed ❤️❤️❤️❤️
My feeling is that organized religion is directly related to the Ego, or rather, the Collective Ego, and it will
eventually fade out, too.
+Particle Config. it was implied in the video's natural thread of thought... i'm glad people think like this.
+Eric John It could be a good start for enlightenment but in a point you should leave it all behind.
Dude I totally agree. I go to christian church and I come from a Zen background and I have noticed radical changes in the church in my year of attending, except there are a lot of egoic things about it. It is definitely dissolving.
All my stereotypes I thought about religion and christianity was somewhat proven to have relativistic perspective.
I think it is changing for sure though.
If anything this just proves the Bible is real.
Ego is used for self relization; If you lose it you begin a process called depersonalization.
i've wondered if those who are more inclined to cooperate with each other in a more intrinsically understanding way, are more evolved than those who are self centered and in constant competitive relationships with others. it's almost like some of us are past the bs we see in some others and realize something more.
How Pure is this .... amazing
+waiataaroha Thumbs up for the david icke artwork
i nearly cried... thank you eckhart...
The ego as a tool to recognize the oneness where we are deeply planted. We are naturally still, but KNOWING it adds something pretty incredible to it. Thank you for this video.
Ego is our sense of indviduality and boundaries. It is necessary in a way. People who constantly talk about giving up the ego are in an ironic way make that part of their own ego
*making
Everything is everything and we are all human
It can be very self defeating, arguably. May not have worked with Esther Hicks, either.
The first time I have ever exclaimed "wow" out loud after watching a video.
The Ego is a tool, like fire, the wheel, a hammer. It developed as a survival mechanism and it is necessary to navigate the current terrain of reality. We're antennas - we pick up thoughts around us. This is not an evil, nor is the Ego. Identifying with it and believing it is the only truth is the evil - not the Ego itself. I don't believe the Ego will go away, but rather become merely a tool that is used when needed and put down when not needed.
Thank you, even scientists in my workplace could embrace the science of spirituality in this explanation... Very enjoyable.
Thank you so much Eckhart Tolle for helping us through this awakening process for that we are immensely grateful.👍👏🙏💖
Oh God..Thank you Echkart and the man who asks this great question..
I got the answer which my mind was longing for. And now it's dissolved & the mind is surrendered.
God bless :)
By the way, in the story of the prodigal son the father didn't send a messenger for his son to come home, as Eckhart suggested. The son was fed up with suffering, came to his senses and decided to go home, be it in a anxious and guilty mood. All the way home, his ego was still in place because of his guild and his fear. He thought his father would not accept him because of his 'big mistake'. It wasn't untill he actually met with his father and surrendered to his will that he learned his guild and fear were outplaced and he was met with only love. I suppose that is the moment the ego subsides.
so beautiful. wouldnt it be amazing to be around when the world goes beyond ego?
Just let us start Julia.
it will happen soon :)))
Julia M We are "the world", we have to stay and be part of the change :)
Julia M what an egoic thing to say lop
Is it even possible?
Eckhart is such a genius! That was also my question that is now perfectly answered 😊
The ego is the Capitalism of the Mind. It seeks infinite growth with finite resources.
The ego is the idea that an emotion, thought, or other reaction which arises in the consciousness, is the self, or part of self. it is the mind that identifies with the things it believes in,. which is why if i insult your football team, you get angry, because you consider things to be 'if he doesnt like my favourite team, then he doesnt like me' because you identify with the tram as being something of yours.. anger and suffering and unskilful actions and reactions happen out of that.. bad karma, and unenlightened existence
False premise
that was very well put, thank you :)
plus it slice everything with its intellect
But the mind isn't bound by finite resources. Neither is our physical reality unless you believe the Earth is all there is.
That chime at the beginning made me feel spiritually awakened and my belief in the universe as some sort of giving entity makes me feel like I have control over that which I do not. I subscribe to narratives made by people that seek to explain the unanswerable questions of life. It makes me feel safe.
The ego is our greatest teacher, it is what leads us to strive towards rediscovery of our true self. Without it we would still be walking round in loin cloths carrying clubs and grunting to eachother.
I have experienced that. I actually stopped myself becoming an adult. I was torn and every year felt worse and worse. When I turned 22 I realised that I don´t want to live like that anymore. I made a decision to face the "truth". This last year seems like a blur to me. It´s like I came back home after a long long time. The difference is I did it on purpose. :)
3:40- 4:45 How romantic of an idea! Fortunately we were rocking out egos before we were even human.
Eckhart Tolle has millions of followers. I am certainly one of his fans. There are universal laws of death, rebirth and stages of growth . What is true of the grain of wheat is true of the universe. Tolle speaks to that growth
Who is "torturing or killing ourselves"?
Personally I don't believe in fashion or doing what is fashionable. I just appreciate Tolle for having very simply revealed an easy way to view what the artifically manufactured "self" (ego, as he calls it) is doing to us as humans and as interactors with other humans...always competing against each other, not as in games or sports but in life in general. The ego wants to want, more keenly than it wants to have. Man that is deep....and true IMHO
I came to the conclusion we need ego to gain contrast between our higher and lower self, Yin Yang, dark needs light, positive needs negative, its up to us " Consciousness " to find the balance, just as water flows around a rock.. We don't resist and force things.
i return here many times
Suggestion: when you are born, you are born with or without an ego. Having an ego means that you know your limitations, and always try to challenge them
Thank you Eckhart for expressing this timeless wisdom. My pondering on the subject: That which is often defined as the Higher Self or the Divine Self and the Ego is no more or less a part of consciousness than that which we normally attribute to our consciousness. The separation is an illusion. It would be better to conceptualize it as a rainbow. Many of the colors or visual wavelengths may seem separate from one another, but upon closer examination it is impossible to find any true division from red to orange to yellow etc...I found the Kybalion very helpful at expressing Buddhist and Taoist philosophy in a manner that satisfies the western mind.
So glad I found him. I thought I was the only one who came to these thoughts ... Nice to see I am not alone!
I have to add: There is the thought in every mind telling You that You are weak - it is the root of the Ego and it tries to bind You to it. Do not listen! It is nonsense - humans are neither weak nor strong, forget that! We are just ourselves trying to make the best of our lifes!
We are coming back home with a new ability, from now, transcend the ego is part of the awareness. I wonder what will be the awareness factor on the next cycle.
In regards to Ego as an evolutionary phase I'm reminded of an idea Ken Wilber uses that of~ transcend and include. We by natures design occupy an absolutely unique perspective...this uniqueness in relationship is what makes life creative from genetics to artistic invention. I think transcending but including ego may be a more reasonable expectation.
My mom loves Eckhart Tolle. I just e-mailed her this, as she has all three books. She should find this interesting and useful (and helpful), I hope.
Ego is a survival mode mechanism
A fight or flight mode?
yes. I listened to Lester and he said so.
All I know for sure if that if you are having negative, sinking, or uneasy feelings about the Ego, you're doing it wrong.
Love the Ego. It's a part of you... not some energetic source that's foreign to you or the universe!
"We Are All One" includes your ego, and true Love embraces it and loves the games it plays!
There's nothing fundamentally wrong with ego. It has many positive functions in our lives and is a part of us. The Buddha (and other Enlightened men) didn't try to eliminate ego; he wanted humans to see through the illusion that it projected. We always come back to the ego--it's never fully gone. What changes with Enlightenment is that we no longer believe in ego as an ultimate reality (independent "thing") and as the most important part of our lives. It's just a form or perspective that consciousness takes. A good analogy for this concept is the lap. Could you imagine being seated your whole life and regarding the lap (ego) as your most prized possession--decorating it and worshipping it (building up ego and organizing your life around it)? Then, someone comes along and tells you that there's more. That person encourages you to stand (egolessness) and helps you see that the lap is just a form, not a real "thing". Once you learn to stand you realize that not only is the lap not an ultimate reality but that it was actually the source of your confinement as you were confined to one space/perspective your whole life. The standing individual now has the freedom to explore and enjoy his/her reality without the constraint of being seated but can choose to sit and return to the lap whenever he/she wants (Enlightenment).
I agree with you one thousand percent...ego is a tool. it is the brain. we need it to function but we should NOT let it take over the entire body...always stay in balance (spirit/energy-ego/brain-body)
Really great explanation of the birth of ego and how need to outgrow it 🙌
So looks like i got clear purpose of my life , it's evolving of my cosciousness.
I have a question for eckhart and anyone who might be able to offer any insight: if the ego first came to humans in the form of thought, then how about intuition? Because a lot of times intuition is also a soft voice ... So did those ancient humans not have an intuition prior to developing an ego either? Upon the connection with thought..what arouse first? Ego or intuition. Or was intuition that was always there? But not communicate in the form of a voice?
Successful education. Successful relationships. Successful play. Great art. Success in a career. A family. Pride in your family and children. Hygiene. On and on it goes.
And your argument is the same as saying "The only thing you have to achieve is realizing you are not your leg".
We all have an ego! It's just the way it is.
Ego is a manifestation of the conscious language we all use to communicate. Let words dissolve into a self awareness of ones spoken word, then the frequency of a language wave form, will only impact the selectively deaf ears of an awakened man.
This is a fascinating point of view and take on this. I love Tolle!
The bible has described the ego as the "flesh" and "at war with the spirit"... This a strange part of believing in a loving Father who created the possibility of you turning yourself into an ego maniac.. This video has really helped lessen the cynicism in my perspective in that area.
Ascended Masters have ego. They just recognize it for what it is.
Exactly.
They don't let it run their lives in negative ways.
But do ascended masters (awakened people) really have an ego? Identification with your thoughts is ego, but if a person does not identify with his thoughts, the ego cannot exist (which it doesn't in any true way anyway). Of course the ego is persistant, so it will try to "come back" when it gets the chance. But someone who is truly enlightened is his true self: the observer, who recognizes thoughts for what they are: thoughts. We who have not reached that true state yet, are constantly living in an illusion. An illusion which creates suffering for us in order to transcend through it.
Sydebern
Ego exists, and remains to be 'managed'. When a person is awake, they recognize all things happen in equal measure-good, bad, or indifferent. One key: to acknowledge each of those equally, not allow emotions to hype either way; not allow events to steer one's direction unduly, for instance.
Ego in control screams hyped emotions, derailing our best efforts: be able to know the feelings exist, be thankful for them, not let those rule. Allow thoughts, but not Need to dwell in them, strive for a quiet mind, which is more available to use when actually needed, as the tool kit it is.
Sydebern
ALL who dwell in this existence have Ego.
We couldn't be in this dichotomous world without it.
It is not so much about 'losing' ego, as it is learning to put it in its place, controlled.
When one is ascended, any concept of a "life" or identity, or personality structure has dropped away. No more body.
Sounds like Owen Barfield's idea of original and final participation. Steiner says the same thing that the ego was needed and materialism was needed and we are in the process of moving beyond them.
An interesting topic for discussion.. it could be argued that the Universe makes no mistakes, as that's how we learn, through our mistakes.
wow what a guy i have struggled with the ego most of my life i am 65 years old this all makes perfect sence
Joan Mct
That's just beautiful. The way is still long though for humanity to come back home
The universe never makes a mistake. It knows what it was doing. If you didn't have an ego you couldn't be held responsible for making a conscious effort or not
This talk made me laugh, it reminds me of when your a child and cant wait to grow up. because when were children we are ignorant to the hardships and struggles of life. Then when we do grow up we want to be a child again in our old rooms with no responsibility's just chilling out, but with the knowledge we have now. Instead we get old and hope are children can quickly & fully comprehend the things its taken us so long to learn and understand so they can enjoy life without their own thoughts and feelings getting in the way of their happiness. I can see a process we as a human race are going through and maybe its not for any reason, It could just be to experience it.
I agree with Eckhart. The ego is a normal part of our "mental/emotional survival package" within our consciousness, as we work to navigate, as separate (often competing) individuals, through the inherent difficulties of this unforgiving physical reality/environment. The ego has served its purpose because it has enabled us to survive. But at this point in human history, with a massive overpopulation problem looming and the ability to destroy ourselves hundreds of times over, etc., ego is going to be the end of the "human experiment" if we can't grow beyond it. Cheers.
Another amazing teaching! Thank you Eckhart!
you right
"Pain is neither good nor bad--it simply is a state of being." Absolutely!
Then you never seek to put an end to pain or to alleviate it?
Pain is a request for energy. Deal with the pain and then send it energy.
David Raddatz A request to keep it going?
Well said.
I do appreciate how shed alight what Ego is and its delusion.
That was amazing and so profound. Thank you Eckhart.
I like this a lot...the Ego has landed....
Egos are there so we will take showers, and strive for knowledge, and care for ourselves
Those are thoughts, not ego. Ego is when you think that you are the thought of taking shower, when you are the silence behind that thought.
Hmmm,, I will ponder that.
Kristin Tran
Conversations about this subject get greasy really fast :D
I know! I strive to understand it better every day :)
Those are a few things that the ego forces us all to do to avoid being rejected and alone. The ego's ONLY purpose is to avoid the lonliness that it has created for iteslf by needing something from the outside to validate it.
Once the ‘I want/need’ within us (at its most powerful and self serving at birth ‘I want food/warmth/love’ and to reproduce ‘I want to make a baby/I want you to love me’) has diminished, the ego (I want/need) can be discarded and transcended into the new space of enlightenment. The love, if we are nurtured correctly, we feel in our early years will sustain us when we truly need it in later life (addiction recovery/strength through illness/disease/procreation and falling in love). The ego initiated this love from our caregivers, it is a life force at times of desperation but we must learn when to discard it with its excessive nature. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean we should use it. It’s there to get us through the important bits but after that it is excess.
A good question indeed, equally or even in a greater way it is answered....with rational explanation...thanks a lot to both....
Tolle's alright. He might not be saying anything "heavy" or "original", which apparently is so important for some people, but what he's saying is true and good. Whether it will be useful, and how, well, that might be in the ear of the listener.
Wanting to get rid of the ego is the ego. The entire spiritual pursuit is the most self-centered activity on earth.
the energy that represents his being is wise full of love and lighthearted with humor,, that how i would like to live among my loved ones,, thanks for being a friend,, eckie bruv,..!
The ego is NOT insane. It has a reason to exist. It is a tool that has to be used properly. The problem is an unhealthy ego. A healthy ego just serves to preserve a reasonable personal space. Example: You are riding the train. There is a lovely older lady engaging you in conversation. She is quite engaging. But suddenly, you become aware that you need to go to the loo. You might not want to "offend" the lady, but your priority right now, and correctly so, it to take care of your immediate need. That is when a "healthy" ago comes in. You still need to be sufficiently assertive to properly excuse yourself and do you have to do. It´s all a question of proportion.
I love his simplicity, his way of communicating people can relate to. However, something is amiss in E.T. understanding of mans evolution to a higher consciousness and a freedom from our ego. Gurdjieff and Spinoza truly explain how human nature works and the necessity of our ego. Gurdjieff talks about the ego and the essence and Spinoza talks about reason and intuition which are the higher levels of knowledge. So, it really take an immense mental effort to understand how human nature works.
I pretty much agree with Melody. The ego defends itself or whatever it identifies itself as being. From the body to a belief.
I'm only awake when I listen to Eckhart.
so you have the knowledge, but not yet wisdom. But I guess we're going there, right? To the promised "land"? The clock is ticking? Death is closer and closer?
Well I personally like to think that if I won't make it to the promised land in this life, I certainly will in the time of death. That would be correct.. I am recalling all the Jesus' teachings and his allegories of heaven (which comes after death) atm. It is just so sad seeing people today living their lifes believing in the misconception. I am talking about Catholic church right now. It similar to the situation when u use sarcasm and people take it literally. ITS FUCKING FRUSTRATING ISN'T IT.
If it is indeed a process in human evolution, we need to get through it asap.
I do not even know why am I writing this. Maybe this IS a collective mind manifesting Itself, or maybe just an ego trying to do its thing.. It is really hard to tell isn't it.
hope you are not using his information just to create illusion of being awake and to keep procrastinating from living his teachings
try to implement something in your life :)
knowing without experience is ... hollow.
yeah but if you wake up whenever you hear his teachings you should listen to them as much as possible!
waking up has nothing to do with someonelse that is a principle
mitchlu that's a problem
I've often wondered about this very topic. I've never heard it explained in this manner. This is very reasonable to me. Fascinating.
This is phenomenal! I never looked at evolution in such a profound way!
+EyesOfTheLion 11
It is amazing. Eckhart does a great service in these teachings. He flipped my like a pancake about 15 years ago. Now I recognize this is all we are here for, this is all we do, evolve in consciousness. The rest are meaningless details by comparison.
The very most egotistical people have such big egos they can't even admit they have one.
What about someone who thinks they are conscious and everyone else hasn't arrived yet? Now, that's ego! The entire spiritual pursuit is the most self-centered activity on the planet.
I Think the most egoistical persons try to admit they have big ego to hide it easily. And it may be a trick to think your superior to others but in fact your are not because ego is hinding behind this achievment of admiting you have no ego. Sorry im french
And im talking of people beeing superior to other people but its not true so i just found my own ego. Fuck its infinit problem my mind is fucked
dan y and their ego bothers our ego.
Trump lol
*+Sydebern*
*"Try instead of 'who am i?' 'am i aware?'. This cannot be claimed by the mind. The mind will try to find an answer, but it can't."*
By asking "am I aware?", I have to use knowledge to answer it. If I ask myself that question and am unable to generate a response, the question is then false. I can only ask myself that question by assuming that i don't know that I am aware and that it has to be somehow proven through thought.
*"You will know it if you pay attention. If you recognize the feeling of simply being yourself, next time try to not identify with the next thought."*
But the knolwedge is still there. I can get into a state where I don't indentify with my thoughts. All that happens is that thoughts begin to simply arise and vanish, and operate on their own accord. And when those thought become calm, all that is left are the senses themselves functioning. The sound of the ocean, the warm breeze, the cool sand, the blue sky. Extra-curricular thought can subside, but the mind is still there. It knows that this is the sound of the ocean, this is the breeze and that is a blue sky. It is very peaceful, but it is still within the framework of thought, knowledge, memory.
Where is the eternal awareness? I don't see anything eternal here. One bullet to the head and any idea or experience I have of awareness being eternal is gone for good.
*"No. The self only experiences now, since it is the now. Nothing tells a "you" that the stove is hot. There is no you and there is no stove. There is only the experience of feeling heat/pain. "You" (thought) are projecting the time-based mind (thought) onto awareness."*
Yet you know that what is burning your hand is the hot stove. You know that that is your hand burning and not your butt cheeks burning because that knowledge is stored as memory and you know that a hot stove is burning that hand because the sensation of heat/pain is also stored as memory. Is that knolwedge not there for you? Do you not know that your hand just got severely burnt by the red hot stove top?
*"Of course, i am conditioned with words like 'bothered'. Even when recognizing who you are and abiding as that, there is a lifetime of conditioning to get rid off, which is just habit. Perhaps, the rest of the life of the physical body there will be remnants of it."*
How can anything be experienced without conditioning? That conditioning is the physical make-up of each unique individual human organism and the wiring of each unique brain. We can use thought to alter thinking and behavior to bring about a change for the better, but that is also a conditioning. Even the meditative state is a conditioning, You generally have to meditate for so long to condition/rewire the brain to produce that state more and more until hopefully one day it is continuous, but that is also conditioning. Conditioning isn't inherently bad or something that needs ot be done away with. Conditioning helps us to learn and survive in an existence where life must brutally feed on other life for continuity. It helps us communicate and it expresses our uniqueness. If we want to survive, we better have the physical capacity to become conditioned. Thankfully conditioning happens automatically as the brain grows and develops. What kind of conditioning are you referring to? Like the bad habit of smoking or always getting involved with the wrong kind of people?
Who is the one trying to get rid of any kind of conditioning? That movement to get rid of conditioning is the new conditioning.
*"Awareness indeed doesn't bother with anything. It doesn't want anything, its nature is peace/happiness/love. It doesn't know anything else"*
I can understand that it's nature is peace, because if you remove the idea/thought/thinking/knowledge that separates man from the rest of nature, then he is automtaically in harmony with it. No conflict is left, just the continuous movement of life - a single movement.
But bringing "love" and "happiness" into it is a projection of a human desire. Why would it love itself? What do you mean by that?
*"Only if you belief that you are in this body you will think that awareness needs this body to exist."*
I don't believe that it "needs" this body to exist or that it exists "within it". It cannot be separated from the physical organism itself.
Is the one that is reading my post right now independent of the physical organism?
*"What really is our experience? Really inquire into this. Without any imagination or intellectual knowledge from the past, do you know anything about your direct perception of your world?"*
How can I inquire without bringing the intellect or the past into it? My direct perception is simply what my senses are physically gathering right now. I don't have to think to experience any of that, it is automatically occuring. The stove is hot. Somehow I know that it is my hand that is burning, not my foot. Somehow I know that I am feeling pain, not pleasure. I don't have to do or think about anything to know/experience these kinds of things.
To me, that is the only kind of direct experience. Everything else is an indirect experience. For instance, you and I will both cry if a loved one dies. Neither of us are reacting to the physical death of our loved one, otheriwse we would start crying at the exact moment of death, but that is never the case. The both of us only start crying when the knowledge that our loved one died "takes it's birth" in us.
I'm saying one that is living from moment to moment will not cry when someone dies. He will only be the observer to the knowledge, not the one that experiences that knowledge and thus begins to cry and grieve. We really don't want to be free, we really don't want to become the witness, we really don't want to live from moment to moment, because then we will look at our own mothers, our own fathers, our own children and aside from the knowledge that tells us "that is my father", there will be nobody there to experience that.
If you are just the Self, then attachment of any kind can only falsify that Self. The death of our own children will be seen as nothing but a fact, not experienced, and there is no way in hell we would give up that kind of attachment. No way in hell. We want to be falsified in some ways. We are not ready to really let go and truly live from momnet to moment.
From every thing I've heard him say in several of these videos, his teaching is very similar, if not the same as A Course In Miracles. I wouldn't be surprised to learn he is well versed in the Course, although I've never heard him mention it.
The ego is a perspective on live.Every human being has his/her unique perspective.It adds to the consciousnes of humanity.It is just that we are too busy being the ego and forget(are enslaved) that we are consciousness,all part of one.
When we move from linear consciousness, we no longer need to define. If the linear mind can understand it, then ego has created illusion. In the awakening stage, we let go of our attachments to the illusion of reality, and we observe it as it for what it is, without judgment.
Namaste
Good way to look at this. Great job explaining!
Ego is I ; it's you , your identity .
I notice people talk about ego less state but isn't that in itself another ego ; I / identity ?
That is exactly correct. That is one myth that people have erroneously propagated lately with regards to the ego. You don't die when the ego dies.......you live. To say otherwise is to be tricked by the ego itself.
'Being spiritual may give life deeper meaning but it can also mess up your mind, research suggests.
'A study found that people professing to be spiritual, but not conventionally religious, were more likely to suffer from a host of mental challenges.'
Article in my local paper 2012.
A brilliant man - all should read, listen, and follow ...
Wonder why Eckhart didn't mention Duality, which is the culprit.
Ego, per se , did not cause the misery
but didn't the old shamans already know that thousands of years ago. For example. The societiy of toltecs were built of that knowing. they were connected to the one and had the conciousness of knowing that they were connected.