Finding Balance
By living aligned with the present moment, you also align your will with the universal will, which you could call “the will of God”. You don’t have a separate will. The separate will wants to enhance or strengthen one’s sense of self.
Eckhart on Our Creative Universe
The awakening process has two aspects, or two dimensions, to it. One is the finding the Source within, as yourself. Then, [there is] bringing that into your life more and more – so that your daily life becomes interspersed with that Stillness.
Can art or music inform the ego of Presence?
On the one hand, you have the creative process – music, or art. And then you have the finished product – the piece of music that is played, or the work of art that somebody contemplates.
Death and Dying
Death is a great opportunity because death is one way in which the formless dimension comes into this life. It’s precisely at the moment of the fading of the form, that the formless comes into this life. But if that is not accepted, and the fading of form is denied, then it’s a missed opportunity.
Presence in Conversation
Question: How do I maintain a sense of presence when I’m in the company of another person? How do I bring presence into conversation?
Eckhart Tolle: It’s not easy. The moment you start talking, the two minds come together and so they strengthen each other. A flow starts, a stream of thought. A moment ago you were present, and then somebody starts talking.
Personal Differences
Viewpoints, opinions, and mental positions are all thoughts – the thought says “this is how it is”, it is some kind of judgment or perspective on things. To be identified with a mental position is to derive your sense of self from that mental position. It’s a substitute identity, form identity, ego – a substitute for your true identity which is formless and has nothing to do with any thought – but is consciousness itself.
The Painbody: Endure it or Walk Away?
Question: When you know a certain person or situation is likely to trigger your Painbody, is it better to avoid them altogether or is it helpful to the development of Consciousness to stay with them and observe your Painbodies?
Gratitude
We are talking about a deeper gratitude. There are more superficial forms of gratitude, and that is not what we are talking about. By that I mean, to be grateful that someone else is worse off than you are…sometimes that is a source of gratitude.
Intuition?
You could say that intuition is a kind of knowing, but you don’t know how you got there. You know something, but you don’t know by what path you’ve arrived at what you know. It’s a sudden arising of knowledge or knowing something, but “I don’t know how I know this”. What is at work here is non-conceptual intelligence, when intuition arises.
Personal Awakening
Question: In The Power of Now, you describe having a dramatic personal awakening. What exactly do you think happened to you?
