You know the moment when you hear a person’s words and it makes something inside of you click with understanding or clarity?????? Like, with an idea or a concept that you had never quite heard in THAT way before…..BUT, upon hearing it, you can actually feel pieces inside of you sliding into place – mentally, physically, emotionally, or even with a vision that comes together in your mind’s eye?? 👁
Well, a few days ago I had moments like that happen while listening to the perspective of Eckhart Tolle. And it was definitely a combo of all the above!!!! His wise words transcend the superficial views that often create limitations, like a scratch on the surface, and they offer an insight into the beauty of life with fresh eyes and fresh thinking. Like a moment of “hmmmmm, what WOULD that change and be like if I chose to approach this event/experience with this open mindset?” Just asking a question like this can push our personal limitations aside because it allows other possibilities to show up that may have otherwise been unseen, even for the purpose of contemplation.
And that is why a book like this can offer such valuable dimension and expansion to our lives!
Ready for a mini-story? 😊
So, over this past weekend, I felt like a little inspiration would do me some good and so I went to trusty YouTube to explore my options. I do love Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday podcasts and interviews and so I ended up there, browsing through her list of guests. And I saw Eckhart Tolle and realized that I had never actually listened to him speak before. So, I decided to change that immediately.
And it was such a smart decision!!!! Even though I have a copy of his book, The Power of Now, (pictured above!! 👆🏼) which I read quite a few years ago, it was so soothing and inspiring to hear him speak. The funny thing is that I remember reading and loving The Power of Now, when I read it over 6 years ago. And I am preeeeeeetty sure that many things that I heard him say over the weekend in this podcast is actually in that book…😳 However, maybe I wasn’t as open to his words as I am now because it definitely had an immense impact on me – – which did not happen the first time that I read the book.
🤔 I guess it’s all about being able to fully receive what’s in front of us in the moment…. or NOT being ready to hear it and really soak it in. Well, when the time is right, the intuition in ourselves will let us know, that’s for sure!!
In any case, maybe this was a sign that it is time to re-read The Power of Now and refresh his words in my mind!? I could add it to my list of numerous must-reads that I am slowly working through. And/Or I can look into adding his other novel, A New Earth, to my collection. My book shelf has rapidly grown this year with incredible literature and authors so why not add another life-changing book to the mix????
So, Eckhart Tolle.
If you are unfamiliar with Eckhart Tolle, he is a visionary spiritual teacher, author, and speaker. In his bio on the back of The Power is Now, it is written that he “…imparts a simple yet profound message: There is a way out of suffering and into peace.” Now isn’t that beautiful, hopeful, and exactly what we have been talking about lately!!!
………….. Whoa, wait a second. ❌❌❌
You know what I was about to ask??? “I mean, who wouldn’t want to transition from suffering to a more peaceful existence????” It seems like a no-brainer choice, right? Like, uh, YEAH, OF COURSE we would rather have peace over suffering because suffering is often destructive and uncomfortable…and who would choose THAT over serenity, ease, calmness, tranquility and so on?
Well, then this quote came to mind. Take a moment, please read this, like REALLY read this, and allow it to sink in a bit before reading on:
“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.” – – – Thich Nhat Hanh
🤯😳🤯🥺🤯
Suffering that is familiar over anything that might ease the suffering. WOW, right?!?!
So, why in the world do we do this?
From my perspective, sometimes we don’t even realize that we’re suffering because it is all that we know. Or it’s because we have conditioned ourselves to see the majority of our lives with a negative lens. Think of the complaints that we have from day to day, why are they there? What are our expectations of our environment, of ourselves, and of other people that serve as the cause of our complaints? Because this is an example of our own suffering, whether we blame outside phenomena, (like tempting food, cigarettes, bad luck, other people, etc) or not. It is affecting our own selves and our own lives.
Or, expanding on this particular perspective, how about our own beliefs? You know the saying “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” Well, I think this applies with this topic of suffering.
If we believe that we’re broken, if we believe that our pain will never heal, if we believe that we are destined for failure, if we believe we are unlucky, if we believe that we will never reach our goals, if we believe that the people around us cause us such distress…..well, then that is how we will perceive our life, that is how we will justify the events in our life, and therefore we will feel correct in our beliefs and allow this suffering to remain.
Our thoughts create our beliefs and our reality. And these thoughts are familiar, ingrained in the ways we live, and we sometimes fail to question the actual validity of these thoughts in our lives at this present time. Whether we say well, “that’s how it feels” or “that’s how it was before” or <insert justification here>. However we choose to explain it, the suffering in our lives persists because we choose to accept these things as is, out of fear of the unknown, out of refusing to take a pause to see another way, or out of not even realizing that other possibilities even exist for us.
It’s like we’re wearing blinders.
Or, for example, like we’re dragging a gigantic boulder behind us, that has been digging into the earth for months or years and making us exert SO MUCH EFFORT to move and live – – – yet we don’t turn around to even notice the boulder because “life has been this hard for so long, so clearly this is the way life is supposed to be,” so we accept this as the truth and just keep dragging away. Not realizing that just a moment of observation and a change in perspective, like turning around, can open the eyes to see a new truth. The ACTUAL truth. The fact that this boulder and this suffering can been weighing us down all this time. And now, with this awareness, we can choose to continue dragging this boulder of suffering around OR we can release it and find more freedom, more energy, more possibilities, and more ease in life.
I made up that example, all by myself! Pretty good, right?!?! 😉 For me, it gives a very clear mental image! I can see myself dragging my boulder of despair and knee-injury-nightmares around with me for quite some time. It’s nice to know it’s there so that I can choose to release it from my grasp. No more boulders dragging me down!!! It’s time to let them go.
Again, just because something is familiar and common in our lives does not mean that it is a permanent fixation, that it will ALWAYS be this way, or that it is our actual truth. Unless we refuse to believe that there is another way. And if this is the case, then it can turn into a permanent structure, our façade of a truth, and perhaps cause us to feel stuck or trapped, even though it’s from our own doing.
Which is why it is so helpful to find and learn from knowledgeable gurus and spiritual leaders, like Eckhart Tolle, who shine a light on how to experience life while living your actual truth. To allow us to realize that other paths exist, that there is more available to us, and to appreciate the life that is in front of us because we are miraculously here to live it.
And that is pretty freakin’ special, all by itself!!!!!!!
Alrighty!!!!!!! On to the mind-shattering teachings of Eckhart Tolle!!! I have chosen my personal Top Five quotes and thoughts from this Super Soul Sunday podcast – – Thank you to Oprah and Mr. Tolle!!!!
And we’re off!!!!
#5) “Humans don’t change until we’re in a state of crisis and humans don’t grow until we’re met with challenges and crises.”
Which means that life NEEDS to provide us with constant struggles and challenges so that we can grow, learn, surpass the mediocre, reach our highest potential, and therefore live our best and fullest lives. Think of all the hard stuff that you have been through. The stuff that may have broken you. The stuff that may have caused you to quit and give up. The stuff that made you question yourself again and again. Yet, you kept going and you keep going, overcoming these challenges, getting up after you fall, striving to be your very best. Without the hard stuff, we would be stationary bodies of mush, with little drive, determination, strength, and giving up would be the #1 option that we might constantly choose. What kind of a life is that?
4) “What happens to you is far less important than how you respond to what happens because that determines your life. Respond consciously so you’re not at the mercy of what happens to you.”
How we respond to challenges and struggles is what determines our life and the course of our future life. So, slowing down and choosing wisely is in our best interest. Otherwise, we can end up making matters much worse AND THEN carrying a detrimental situation around with us which may inhibit our future drastically. Like our boulder metaphor or my knee injury loop, learning to recognize a disturbance for what it is and responding calmly and consciously is a game-changer. No matter how big or how small you perceive the disturbance as being, your response is everything.
3) “Life will give you whatever experience that is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know that this is the experience that you need? Because this is the experience that you are having at this moment.”
Wow, how ’bout that? Examining the positive and the negative experiences of our lives to this point, the ones that stand out the most, what if those experiences were created as an evolution of our own consciousness. To open up our eyes, to feel things more fully, and to live with more understanding and clarity. Definitely with my knee injuries, I have SO MUCH BODY AWARENESS than I have ever had before. Even with being a professional dancer for years and the kinesthetic awareness that automatically builds with that lifestyle….after multiple injuries, I have never been more aware and it has led me to this personal journey of being a more conscious person. What if I needed these knee injuries to show me a new and better way to live my life???? Doesn’t that just flip and scramble the mental script in my head. 🧐 I’m still processing this one but WHOA!!
2) “Everyone has memories but to derive your sense of self from these memories and past experiences is limiting.”
WE ARE NOT OUR PAST EXPERIENCES AND OUR PAST EXPERIENCES DO NOT DETERMINE WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN OUR FUTURE UNLESS WE CARRY IT THERE. I say this in all-caps because I need to remind myself of this!! We are not what happened to us in our previous years and those things actually have no bearing on the beings that we actually are today. As much as we tend to connect our past to our present and make the distinction that “this is who I was so therefore this is who I am.”
Let’s leave the past in the past, remember the beautiful and fond memories, and move forward without the restraints that may have been in our past. Yes, please!!!! Letting life unfold with an open heart and an open mind as much as possible will allow a future to exist that is not tainted by past experiences. Wouldn’t that be so lovely?????!!!!!!
And lastly, my favorite one and the quote that most blew my mind:
1) Eckhart Tolle doesn’t agree with the view that we manifest the things in our lives that are unpleasant and therefore we convince ourselves that we created those unpleasant things. Instead, his view is:
“Accept this moment AS IF YOU HAD CHOSEN IT.”
THIS ONE. This one changes everything for me. Because it isn’t saying that we chose all of the unpleasant and negative experiences in our life. Like, I didn’t choose to have a traumatic knee injury that prevented me from finishing my dance contract. And I didn’t choose to have another traumatic knee injury that not only prevented me from fulfilling my dance contract but it took me out of my dance career altogether. Because I never would have chosen that, ever in my life. However, how would it change things if I perceived these negative events as something that I actually did choose?
Because, here’s the truth: those knee injuries already happened. And as soon as they did happen, I could do nothing to change them because it was already a done deal. So, by going into denial mode and misery mode (which I definitely did, especially with the second gigantic knee injury), then I was resisting this FACT, fighting the truth, and perpetuating my own sadness and pain. Refusing to accept my actual reality.
However, how would things have shifted if I saw these two knee injuries, as devastating as they were, as something that I actually chose? Because they happened either to me or FOR me. Fighting with it won’t change them but accepting them as something I actually chose gives me the power to unburden myself with my misery/guilt/resentment and move forward with purpose, strength, and promise. Because I chose these things, after all. And I must have had a REALLY (oh man, I better have had a freakin’ freakin’ freakin’) good reason for it all!!!!!!! 😆
But seriously, what a way to spin negative events that happen in our lives!!! So that we accept these instances (since we can’t ever change them or stop them from happening…..since they already happened….) with a clearer head, less judgment, less resistance, and less vicious thought patterns. And allow ourselves to heal, bounce back, and continue living our full lives without all those boulders!!!
🤯🤔🤯🤔🤯🤔🤯🤔
I’m telling you, sometimes a juicy question to yourself can bring forth answers and clarity that can heighten your senses and your awareness, like flipping a switch deep down in your soul!!
Maybe like this one??
#RocksofUnity – – – Thank you, Alexa!!! ❤️
Isn’t that an interesting question to ask ourselves?!?! As well as a lil’ reminder to be more conscious of what we do ask for….😉