Consciousness

                Essence of Eckhart Tolle 

As I have said before, Eckhart Tolle provided the most transformational insights in my life. Changes to my understanding started taking hold by the time I finished the first three chapters of The Power of Now.

But before you dive into The Power of Now - and be prepared to be submerged in it for a long time -  I would like to share with you the three step formula I have followed for self improvement.

   1. Find the knowledge, if you feel attracted to a subject.

   2. Believe in it, unconditionally, if it makes sense to you.

   3. Practice wholeheartedly, if you believe in it.

And the reason most people fail? They fail in the third step! I sincerely hope you will practice what you believe in, with passion.

Realization of true self

There are many methods prescribed by Eckhart Tolle, in Chapter 7 of The Power of Now, titled “PORTALS TO THE UNMANIFESTED”. I started my practice by “GOING DEEPLY INTO THE BODY” and I have largely stuck with this one practice. But you may find some other portal more appealing and suitable. 

It took me about a week of reading, contemplation, and practice, to get the first glimpse of self. That is when the real change of life began. But it took me more than two years of persistent practice, with occasional lapses in attention, to get to the point where I was able to be in that state of oneness most of the day!

True, I do slip at times when faced with a difficult life situation, and start feeling the normal emotions of anger, frustration, hatred, anxiety etc. But due to my success with mind control, I am at once able to arrest my thoughts, take a couple of deep breaths, and slide back into the state of connection with the universal energy. And then start seeing myself in everything around me, the animate and the inanimate.

I will try to describe the one portal I used out of the many Portals to the Unmanifested that Eckhart Tolle prescribed.

GOING DEEPLY INTO THE BODY

Remember the exercise “Looking inside you” from the page on Consciousness? This is a step beyond it. You sit down in a comfortable chair. Eckhart Tolle says to keep your back straight to have an erect spine, but I did not do it. I just relaxed with my back resting on the cushion.

I start by sitting near a window in my home from where I can see many trees and the sky and some buildings in the distance. If you don’t have a quiet and comfortable spot at home, you can step out into a park and sit on a park bench.

The idea is to have a fresh connection with nature, and get a feeling of peace and quiet, before you close your eyes and start the mental process.

Close your eyes, like in meditation - well, this is a type of meditation. Take a few deep breaths while directing your inner eyes into the body, deep down, beyond the heart. This time you are not trying to wonder about your body and who you are. Your goal is to go beyond the body. So you project your mind first “into” the body, and then let the mind continue moving beyond the body.

Now move your mind into the beautiful nature around you…envision the continuity of the planet, that connects the trees and every surrounding object you have just pictured, seamlessly to the horizon, and then beyond into the sky and the planets and galaxies.

Don’t think about it. Just see them in your mind’s eye… as if you are flying though everything. Soon you will start feeling the experience of your formless presence. It is feeling, NOT thinking.

That experience IS the true being. Just continue in that state as long you are comfortable. Later on, as you come out of this meditation, you will realize that there were times when you had forgotten about your body! 

Sometimes I used to envision brief shots from the old Star Trek movie, without the characters or the spacecraft. I would create in my mind that infinite expanse of the universe they show in the movie, creating a feeling that I was traveling through space among the stars and the galaxies. Again I would have lost my body awareness.

The idea is to reach that point, AND YOU WILL REACH THAT POINT, VERY SOON SOME DAY, when you are not aware of your body, however briefly it may be, but still aware of your magnificent existence in this infinite universe. Because in the end, that is where you truly belong. Omnipresent... and part of the universe! That is the moment of bliss!

Eckhart Tolle has described this experience beautifully in his own words. I have tried to tell you about my experience, quite similar to Tolle’s, but in my own words. You may have your own words to explain the experience. The fact is, the experience of this bliss can only be “felt”. It cannot be understood by your mind, or explained in words.

And the best part is this. Once you have experienced it, you can repeat the experience quickly, any time, any number of times, and for any length of time! Try it out NOW!!

To review consciousness by going back to Philosophy of Mind click here

To go to the Next step - understanding true Enlightenment click here

Return from Eckhart Tolleto Pursuit of Happiness (Home Page)

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