Eckhart Tolle Session 8

although your bags may be packed you still here and when you sit in the car driving home or to the airport you will also still be here will always be now here but of course the scenery changes around you the now is always there the now is you the Still Point at the center and then there's the periphery which is all the world around you and so you move your your physical form is part of all those forms that make up the world the fluctuating forms of life and you are there as a Still Point although the physical body may be moving as part of this dance of form that is the phenomenal Universe a continuous dance of form and your phenomenal for the physical body is part of that all whether you want to or not that will be part of the dance that continues but not getting lost in that in the phenomenal world not thinking that anything in the phenomenal world around you matters absolutely it only matters relatively and regarding any form that is in your field of perception situation condition Place person regarding any form this famous ancient statement is true and that is this too will pass fleeting that's the nature of phenomenal reality everything is fleeting even if you've had a long life you reached the age of 95 and then you look back from one perspective yes it was a long time lots of things happened and yet it was also so fleeting and you might was it all a dream all those things long gone all those people that I knew all those experiences it it's in the nature of a dream almost because it is so fleeting every experience is so fleeting and then it's gone when you get home you might wake up the first morning after getting home after this your old familiar surroundings and then you remember that you were on this Meditation Retreat or whatever want to call it did I dream all that it's gone already and you were looking forward to it perhaps for quite a while it was coming towards you as an event and then it comes and then it goes and all events are like that so this our gathering there's an external form to it this place all the people the words that are [Music] spoken if you want to hang on to the external form of our gathering then you might feel a little sad that it's coming to an end or in a few days or weeks time you might think back and say oh I was peaceful then that was so nice and now it's [Music] gone but that is forgetting the essence of our gathering the essence of our gathering does not lie in the form the physical location which is beautiful but you can't stay in one location forever you could but there you wouldn't be happy with that either the struct just the words walking from one building to another the meals meeting the people all nice beautiful but the essence isn't any of this the essence is precisely taking you to a deeper place than the form which your life takes [Music] externally the essence of our gathering is the [Music] now and in 20 years time you could pick up a photo that was taken here of you may hate yourself and some other people and oh wasn't that wonderful and then somebody asked what was that all about well that it was all about the now and then the person might ask where is that wonderful now now and the essence then you look at the photo interest the the essence of that is here now as myself Beyond a mind-based story- based sense of me because in 20 years time things will have been added to the story of me it will have grown a long story of me but even that won't be fulfilled yet fulfilling there'll still be many things in it that that shouldn't have happened and no it's not complete yet I need more things on the level of story there's always a sense of incompleteness but we are here not to complete the story of your life that will carry on But realize who you are beyond the story which are the external circumstance these things that happen to you and continue to happen so we've stepped out of the story and you may not be out permanently you may get drawn in your complete identification with the world around you complete identification with your mind complete identification with reactive patterns and so seriousness a heaviness returns into your life and every little thing matters and any little thing has the power to upset you and then suddenly you remember oh I've lost the now where is it now and now then the mind says there's no point and even looking for it now because obviously you're not in a fit state to be at peace and with all the problems going on around you but there's just no point in even trying often you will hear thoughts like that that your mind is telling you you not now later I haven't got the time to be present now but one good thing that has come out of this Gathering is that you no longer completely believe in what your mind is telling you and you can watch that and often it may be telling you things to manipulate you I'm not saying the mind is your enemy but it's an entity a little form that Consciousness has taken and every form wants to persist in it as that form it doesn't want to metamorphose transform it wants to but it does anyway I'm sure the caterpillar if you ask the caterpillar would you like to become a butterfly it'll say no way I'm fine as I am because form wants to persist as that form it's there's an there is a momentum and a a static thing also wanting you can see it in at night you might get tired but you're not going to bed because the momentum of the Mind wants to carry on it wants and you know you're tired and you would be better off in bed but you're still doing because that form has its moment it wants to remain as the and the opposite happens in the morning you need to get then you want to stay in bed that doesn't want to change you can see it also with children sometimes they don't want to go into the shower or the bath because it's it transition from the dry state to the wet state but once they are in the wet State they love it and they want to don't want to come out so just examples of forms wanting to persist and to to see and so the mind is a very deep-seated form that Consciousness has taken and it wants to carry on as that form as the noisy mind that's in control of your life and it'll come up with all kinds of justifications why it will and should and must remain in control so we may you may remember we started on the first day by saying don't take your mind too seriously while you're here and whatever thoughts may come up be gentle with it but don't take it too seriously that means don't have your don't be identified with every every movement that comes up in your head and say oh yeah yeah oh yeah and we've been stepping back continuously which is the essence of being present is an inner stepping back from the flux of thought and also an inner stepping back from the flux of emotions no Denial in in that simply you take a step back from where you are the observing presence the witness and when you step back that also means you step out of being trapped in those mental formations mental emotional formations with your sense of self otherwise they imprison your sense of self and it gets trapped in those mental emotions formations one could say there are many ways of speaking of what this Gathering is and has been all about one way is to say we are here to step out of identification of seeking a self of continuing in the illusion that there is a self a sense of me a true identity in The Continuous Flux Of The conditioned mental emotional structures which are for movements energy movements of form nothing wrong with them but it's not who you are but most people live completely identified with that movement and so Liberation means Liberation from that from being trapped with your sense of Self in that and so it's the stepping back and the stepping out so to speak and the moment you step back from thought and emotional flux you become present the the portal into that state that steps back is the present moment you and then you are present with you can watch the the flux don't believe in it completely anymore especially when it tells you something about yourself or other people or even situations in your life whatever it says may have a relative truth in it but it's relative it's a Viewpoint it's a perspective it's a position it's never the totality there's no wisdom in there no wisdom in there knowledge yes a lot of knowledge conditioned knowledge but no wisdom because it's it's always a positional thing one perspective and there are many other possible perspectives on the same thing I listened to the speech by the president last night and it contained a promising statement and that was may God grant us wisdom he didn't say may God grant us Victory and he didn't say may God grant us power he said may God grant us wisdom and so that is a promising statement but wisdom in our civilization not just this country the entire civilization on the planet is rare it's not taught really at any University that I know of but wisdom is not knowledge it's not the ability to think faster or to know more or to be to be able to analyze more quickly that's all that's so-called mind power intelligence IQ wisdom is the ability to step out of the conditioned into a greater vastness of Consciousness which you know nothing of when you trapped in the conditioned mind so the simple the ability to step back from there into the spaciousness yes the Stillness of presence the inner Stillness and space sense of spaciousness of presence that is having access to the realm of wisdom and it's not taught there is a continuous increase in knowledge there's a continuous intensification on one level of identification with mental noise and knowledge reactivity and not much is known about wi it's still what this what I have been talking about here for most people on the planet is which is a completely unknown thing and this is amazing the most important thing for a human being to know the mainstream culture knows nothing of it almost occasionally little glimpses come through here and there even on TV occasionally little glimpses come through in the media occasionally here and there yes there's some truth there some wisdom shining through or a a statement inspired by wisdom but on the whole yet it's not taught at schools or universities wisdom 101 nowhere and what what would an exam look like on wisdom can you become an advanced practitioner of wisdom or would you be better at wisdom if you were a complete beginner at it I remember a book title another book I haven't read uh Zen mind beginners mind it's probably a good book well the title is good so that is having access to that realm within yourself and again it is not separate from who you are that [Music] realm from where wisdom arises in your life is the essence of your very being so it is not a it's not some strange place that you visit you visit it and you realize that's the essence it's me and one way of putting it I'm giving you just another little pointer I've used the pointer before it is also a real Stillness that is there underneath all the mental noise in you never can never be destroyed by mental noise and the moment the Mind stops even for an instant it's there but you might not sense it at first because you've been desensitized by that continuous mental noise just like somebody who spends 6 hours in a discoe has become be sensitized and will not be able to listen to silence when he or she steps out of the discoe into the Stillness of the Night deafened by the noise and at first you step out and seems oh this is Dreadful the noise has stopped and there's nothing here you wouldn't be able to hear the subtle noises of the night and the huge Stillness underneath it the alive Stillness you would have to stay out of the Disco for quite a while before your ears become attuned to that much more subtle realm and then you realize it's not just nothingness out here it's actually beautiful and sacred very different from the noises of the discoe I have nothing against diso takes it's just a metaphor for the human mind uh so at first and there in many many most of you already even before knowing this expressed clearly and recognizing the truth of it because somehow you already knew all this of course if you didn't know all this already you would have gone home by now you wouldn't have recognized the truth because you wouldn't have been able to listen to it you knew it already so it's just being formulated then you say see it more clearly out there yes and so that's a you're now more conscious of it but that state of awareness Stillness very likely has already been arising in you perhaps even without you knowing it because the mind doesn't really recognize it to the mind there's nothing going on here I mean what's what's is all this and so the sensation of thought for a moment the arising of still alive aware presence just awareness which is there whenever something new appears in your life something let's say something suddenly pops up out of a box and there's a moment of looking before the Mind finds a label for it anything new that suddenly comes in or a person proudly pops up and that moment is a moment of awareness after a second or so maybe two unless that thing is so unfamiliar that the Mind cannot immediately label it in which case the mind would stop for longer if suddenly an extraterrestrial appeared in front of you the mind would stop for longer because it wouldn't perhaps immediately find a label for it and so there would be prolonged awareness but that is the state that is the state of pure awareness before the arising of mental labels it can also be there after the arising of mental labels you no longer are identified with the mental labels and then they subside because you're not empowering or energizing the mental labels through your identification with them as me my belief my position my judgment me and that gives it enormous power that identification with without that identification it's simply a movement it may arise and subside and then you have the awareness prior to thought and post after thought so the ET arises in front of you and there's and then the mind says something what is this is weird I don't know what that is and then it stops again you may also find it when you wake up in the morning your eyes [Music] open and you look around the room perhaps and there's a sense of great liveness throughout your entire being presence aliveness the Mind hasn't started yet it hasn't reminded you of your problems yet you're in that now in which there are no problems undou edly you're in bed and you're it's the light is shining through the curtains and you're breathing and there's not a single problem there and that you may not be aware of that it may only last a few seconds for some people it lasts a minute or two and then gradually the engines of the Titanic [Laughter] start I learned that very clearly there was a some I was living in a community once and there was a man who was tortured by his mind continuously but when he came out of the bedroom in the morning came down for breakfast for the first three four five minutes maximum his face was unlined he looked like a newborn with a freshness and she childlike quality and then he started drinking his coffee and then his mind started he left that moment he left the null and was suddenly remembering himself his the me in its story so unhappy and all the problems facing him on that day and the following days oh and then there's that oh and that and that and so the face changed the tension came back and he aged 20 years in 5 minutes and there's no and then a deadness comes a non aliveness no emanation anymore gone until the next morning what a fate having to live in that way and this man thought he had problems he was fine in food shelter Pleasant surroundings he hadn't met Steven Hawking in his wheelchair unable to move speak feed himself even lift his head when I first saw him so how could life deal such what how can fate deal such a cruel BL to a person it's the most cruel thing fate could do to you to incapacitate a person totally and he accepted and he accepted and that most Dreadful thing became turned into good that most Dreadful of Faith was turned into good through the yes to what is and here was this man complaining about his little problems he hadn't suffered enough yet he needed to get to a point where he couldn't stand himself and anymore where he couldn't stand that self-inflicted suffering anymore and then perhaps I lost touch with him we had a few conversations so it doesn't matter whether you start with the you could say the identification with the mental emotional flux as me creates the state of resistance to what is because the me is always unfulfilled and unsatisfied and it's actually in need of conflict because otherwise I don't know who I am anymore it's in need of enemies because otherwise I can't Define who I am and an enemy can be a situation or person we all know people who need their worries what would they do if they had nothing to worry about their whole sense of self would collapse but to some extent that's true for [Music] everyone so that is the resisting entity it refuses to let go but it's no longer controlling you completely otherwise you wouldn't have come here at least you wouldn't have stayed all these days here for so from now on you can watch the phenomenal Dance of the universe whether inner as emotions or thoughts or outer as people situations events comings and goings an adding to and a losing gain and loss in your life fluctuation of that that you can't continuously gain things you would get enormously heavy gain and loss and you can allow the flux of forms within and without you don't need to change it as such but the change happens through changing your inner attitude towards it that's the miracle if you go out and try to manipulate one particular area and change that it could be within yourself I'm going to fix myself I'm going to sort that problem out inside myself well you sort one out and another one pops up or you become good at one thing you cultivate one particular area in your life and then you lose something there if you become very effective in one area then you be you can't do that anymore and so on no you there are hundreds of things that you could do but you won't do there's infinite possibilities in everybody's life hundreds of forms that could arise in your life that forms that your life could take but won't and others will and it's all the flux of forms I call it sometimes your life situation your life situation changes but your life situation is not your life that's the essence to know that if you confuse your life situation with your life and with who you are then you you're lost in your life situation you're lost in your mind you're lost in time past and future which is the essence of your life situation it in unfolds through past and future Through Time it's it's there's a path to it that's your present life situation and then there's its momentum the momentum that it has how it's going to develop and some of your life situations may be very good at this time things have just been added to you for a while and others life situation may be at a so-called state of loss it may be called not good it doesn't matter where your life situation is that is a continuous flux in any case so to know the difference between the phenomenal reality of your life and a deeper reality that is life prior to the world of arising and subsiding phenomena where is life here now not in thought when you step back from thought into a state of alert Alive's presence that's life and it has no form when I speak about it it has a form but in itself it has no form it is the formless life so in the world of the senses you can only know the life of form life or we could say Consciousness life or Consciousness the one life Essence is Born Into form temporarily billions of life forms even on this planet and then beyond life forms life is born into a form and then the form subsides it dies when you look into nature I was looking at a flower bed the other day and I saw suddenly these flowers they appear for a few days beautiful forms Life incarnates as a flower one of the many many incarnations that the one Essence takes is as a beautiful flower and it comes out and and goes and then it Withers come and but before it's gone completely the next one is already out is it a different flower no it's basically the same flower again and then I saw a speeded up version of flowers coming out and even trees coming out of the soil and going and then the next the same Movement Like a heartbeat out and back in out and back in to exist the root of the word is to stand out X Latin for out zist stand out it comes out of the one and then back in just as your body out and back and to see that pulse of life and all every form is subject to that what is it that it comes out of the ground of all being pure now all labels are totally inadequate it's absurd to even say anything about it but I'm doing it the ground of all being pure Consciousness life prior to form the unmanifested one life one could say that is out the state before the universe was born out of which because nobody scientists look at it they postulate a moment when the universe started as an explosion they think a big bang and what did that explosion come out of the question arises what was there before that explosion and then you [Music] um and how long was it before that had Could Happen uh um all one can say is there was nothing and it came out of nothing and that's the ground of all being that nothing it all must have come out of nothing because if it came out of something where did that come out [Laughter] of and that stage before the universe was born was never lost it it is even now your very essence as it is the essence of all other life forms in one sense the Big Bang never really happened it just seemed to so to know that your essence is one obviously with the essence of the universe how could it not be you're an Inseparable part so you can know the essence in yourself not in a dualistic relationship I know it in language it appears that way but you know it as yourself and is that hard to find how could the essence be distant from you how could it be hard to find if it is the essence of your being well do I need time when am I going to how long does it take me to find time is part of the phenomenal Universe it cannot contri contribute cannot help you to find your essence the Timeless Essence that you are it's only when you step out of time that the essence is suddenly there how do you step out of time you say yes to this moment surrender to life that is surrender to life when you say yes to the form that this moment takes as a situation an event or a person a deep yes to the form that this moment takes which changes continuously this moment now is this Gathering and this moment this afternoon it'll still be this moment you might be sitting in a car or plane that's the form that this moment takes then but it's the same now the form differs but no matter what form it takes and even if You Got Hijacked who cares it's the the the form comes to an end at some point and some people might think it's too soon too soon it's always too soon when you don't know who you are even when you're 95 it'll be too soon I haven't found myself yet it's too soon it is not such death is not such a tragedy it looks like it when you know nothing but [Music] form so whenever you don't completely say yes to an arising form whatever form this now takes that yes takes you beyond the form beyond your own form why is that because when you react to a form that reaction is your own form identity strengthening itself when you resist anything that arises in the now and you react there is a reacting entity a me that through its reaction strengthens its form identity it's in other words each reaction which is also a denial of the now it's a non-racing it's the opposite of embracing it's a contraction it's a reaction it's a resistance each reaction to whatever arises in the now whatever form it takes keeps you trapped more in your form identity The Limited nature of you who you think you are the little me a non-reaction through surrender to whatever form arises takes you both beyond the limitations of that arising form it may be you may find yourself in a situation that would would usually be called bad but your surr gender to that takes you beyond the limitations seemingly imposed On You by that Rising form and the limitations of being trapped in a little me form identity in yourself in the case of Steven Hawkins which I gave as an example look at the the limitations of that form of having to live look at that life situation couldn't be worse couldn't possibly get much worse than that and through acceptance going beyond the limitations that seeming limitations of that form so you always go beyond the world which is the world of form through surrendering to what is the mind will tell you the opposite it says you need to battle with the forms in your life you need to fight that keeps you dependent on the forms and you actually strengthen the opposition of forms in your life in other words problems get heavier when you are in an antagonistic attitude towards this moment whatever form arises at this moment so the mind tells you fight struggle try to make it try harder resist don't give in and so you get the world becomes denser and denser heavier and heavier and in yourself you find the same density of me struggling against all those others people and situations what do they all want of me they all seem to put obstacles in my past continuously people and situations I can't stand people anymore so surrender to what is you can see now the how that works how instead of being at the mercy of external conditions through surrender which the Mind might might be telling you you go beyond the conditions of your life which seem so limited through surrender that's the miracle and what do you surrender to only now nothing else is needed only this moment if I ask you to surrender from now on for the rest of your life or the rest of the year what a task am I go that's too difficult so I mean even the whole day how am I going to manage that you have a new [Music] problem and then the Mind thinks back in the evening and says I didn't surrender very much today and then you can feel bad about yourself which to the little me is good because it strengthens your identity so all that's needed is in surrender is just this moment whatever it is just this it's not a lot this it is as it is and you Embrace this so that's where true power arises power not that it is not derived from the little me entity but a deeper power the very the power of Life The Power Of Consciousness the power of a much greater intelligence than the limited intelligence of the human mind which you can still use when you need it that power and then more and more you find that power not just freeing you from unhappiness and suffering but that power running your life moving through you and Things become easy than then not lose their heaviness so this is what Jesus meant when he said going beyond the I have I have overcome the world he said but how what does that mean what did he mean when he said I have overcome the world he didn't have any worldly power or an army or weapons not even worldly knowledge he probably knew Less in terms of knowledge than any person in this room because there wasn't that much knowledge at his time so on that level he didn't have power obviously what does that statement mean I have overcome the world well this is what it means that the phenomenal world he was free of dependency on [Music] form so when I say the dance continues that is not a bad thing when you leave here the dance of form in India they have little deities expressing that dance with lots of arms I think well I think that's what they do the uh the dance of form continues and it's not really threatening anymore when you know the truth of who you are Beyond form but you cannot know it as an accumulated thing in your mind it can only be be known continuously in the aliveness of now that's knowing the truth it can never be made into knowledge that you accumulate it's a continuous knowing which can only happen now in this moment knowing who you are is not an achievement that is in the past no certificate is possible that says self- knowledge acquired on such and such a [Laughter] date so when you know who you are knowing it every moment this moment as the alert still alive presence Beyond thought that then the world of form becomes quite enjoyable actually because you have a greater spaciousness that you are in which all that happens more and more you live as the space in which the world happens basically it means you are the now in which it happens you're not what happens you're not the thought that happens you're not the emotion that happens that comes and goes you're not the event that happens the situation that you find yourself in you are none of that if you think you are that's delusion you are not what happens you are the space in which it happens when you know that through surrendering to what is life becomes quite enjoyable the world of form the life of form is Al quite enjoyable the dance and you know everything comes and goes you don't need any one form and cling to it because it gives you your sense of self mustn't go this I mustn't lose that and there's not one form that you think you desperately need to complete who you are and if you don't get that you are not going to be complete because the truth is of course if you get it for a moment it satisfies you and then you'll be unhappy again and if you don't get it you'll be unhappy you either case you'll be unhappy if you get what you think is going to make you complete you'll be unhappy the very thing will make you unhappy or it'll leave you again that'll make you unhappy so it's never you're never going to find it there and but then you play with the world of form instead of having a deadly serious relationship with the world and your life situation and there's a desperation about it I've got to make it and I might not make it what then and and you depend on all these other people on what they tell you whether you've made it or not and you're you're waiting for a Mad World to confirm to you that you're okay so instead of that dead seriousness a more playful quality comes into your life in which you still honor the world of form not that you say I'm not paying attention anymore to any form don't want anything to do with it I'll I'll stop showering and um not interested anymore just I'm done with all that no you can you honor the world of form for which it what it is because the essence of each form each life form is one with your essence there is an Essence in each life form this Leaf so be careful with that word the formless one life which is the essence and you honor each form because you see that ultimately sacred Essence in each form and so that you have a loving relationship even to the world of form you do not become a hater of the world of form some Aesthetics have gone that way they saw some real there was a glimpse of a certain reality that there is something deeper than the world of form but some became haters of the world of form in the search for more complete realization of that one reality but hating the world of form doesn't take you there honoring and giving it its due so each form is honored and that particularly imp applies to other humans because a lot of your the forms of life that you meet will be human [Music] forms and your life situation is determined to a large extent by the human forms in your life and so they are honored and where when do they come into your life in the the now and no human being can come into your life that's not in the now and what do you do in the now you accept the isness of this moment this being no matter what this being says or does that's the way that's what is you might say no no can come may come out of your mouth and yeah there's complete yes internally a car pulls up and a drunk driver says come on I'll give you a ride and you don't say yes to that moment and get in the car you see say no thank you and you better get out of the car too but there's no reactivity there's no a little entity saying you shouldn't be saying this you shouldn't you should know better why you fighting a fighting there's a and the strange thing is whatever you do in a non-fighting way is actually more effective because any fighting creates more opposition it doesn't mean you cannot defend yourself if somebody comes at you with an axe perhaps you raise your arm and or you hit back nobody can predict when you're present what you will do you don't need a set of principles in your head anymore when you live in presence According to which you act right action arises out of surrender to what is and you don't need some abstract principles to guide you anymore you know need those when you're not connected with who you are so questions like should we are is it ever right to be violent or to even physically defend yourself or to to save somebody or many people to kill somebody these questions are hypothetical the right thing will always emerge out of the state of presence right action emerges out of the state of presence so and that is yes to the suchness of this moment and then perhaps action is required it comes out of the yes not out of the contracted state of no which is a little me so there's the that's the secret of life if for some strange reason it's a secret I don't know why I'm not an advocate of conspiracy theories but it almost looks if it were a conspiracy let's keep the secret of life a secret let's not teach our children that let's not teach it at universities let's let's cram their heads full of useless knowledge but the secret is out now let's forget about the questions that you may still have or had yesterday all the questions if they are vital you will know the answers from [Music] within if they are not vital they'll dissolve so enjoy the dance of your life situation the life situation does not need to change you no longer have the need for it to change so that you can be okay you're okay already now and then watch the miracle unfold and be completely wherever you are it's a now it's your home sitting in the car sitting at an airport sitting on a plane sitting at home sitting in the office walking standing lying of course you'll be somewhere and it'll be in the now doesn't really matter where you walk or sit or stand or lie will be somewhere the form will be somewhere and it'll be okay enjoy the passing scenery situations [Music] people the only way to enjoy enjoy this externalized life of form so if you don't need it anymore to make you happy then you can truly enjoy it and the strange thing is then more nice things tend to happen than when you need it this has been a wonderful Gathering a wonderful on the surface 5 days or whatever it has been but in reality a wonderful deep one moment and there's no reason why your life cannot continue to be a wonderful deep one moment it is for so you have already arrived there's still an external seemingly a journey a movement through space and time but you have already arrived internally you may occasionally forget that that's okay too you won't forget it for very long so as far as your outer life was [Music] concerned blessings on your journey through space and time and welcome home [Music] home

Channel: Namaste Publishing

Views: 598,922

Keywords: Namaste Publishing, Eckhart Tolle, Presence, Living in the Now

Id: 2FEft2FIcJE

Length: 70min 4sec (4204 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 05 2016