Is The State of Presence Devoid of Emotional Content?

sometimes when I hear you talk about presence it seems like you're describing a state in which there's no mental or emotional content and yet I experience emotions in presence perhaps sadness when something happens that is difficult for another person or at the news of the death of someone I love and I experience that emotion happening in present time isn't this possible form isn't it possible for emotional experiences to arise in presence yes you can have presence while the emotions are happening or while even while thoughts are happening it means you're not totally lost in totally identified with totally drawn into the emotion or the thought there is in the background the space of awareness that in the foreground there may be anger sadness and you're not totally lost in it there's a space for it that you still sense and you are essentially not the emotion you're the awareness behind the emotion you know that this emotion is there the same thing can happen when the mind is active you can talk and the mind can take completely take over and you become lost in your mind in a stream either stream of thinking or a stream of speaking you can observe it if you can't yet observe the mind stream in yourself you can occasionally just quietly observe people talking to each other and especially people who are having a discussion because when you're having an usually discussion or disagreeing about something and there is not only the mind there's also an emotion that goes with the mind stream that's the disagreement why is there an emotion when people are having a discussion and disagree why is there an emotion that goes within their mental positions well because they identified with a mental position that identify means their sense of self has become one with the thought the ant the consciousness the eye has identified with the Conte with a form rather than realizing that it is formless in essence it has lost that knowledge so consciousness is in a dreamlike state say conscience identifies with I with the form in so there isn't there is a self identification with a mental position or thought which means anybody who questions or doubts or contradicts this mental position or thought is unconsciously regarded by the self identified sort structure which you have become the ego is part of ego the anybody who disagrees contradicts doubts is unconsciously not in so many words but unconsciously regarded as an enemy because you are threatening it's a delusion but there's an unconscious belief that the other person is threatening my very being because the person is threatening my mental position with which I have identified so you can it's very it's a very deeply unconscious process and it requires quite an alertness to see it in the moment that it happens in yourself but perhaps next time somebody comes to you and you're having encounters a disagreement about something and suddenly you can feel an influx as you defend your position or contradict the other person or justify something feel the emotion that flows into what you say it will be some kind of either aggressive or defensive emotion that goes with it either some fear or some aggression if you can't be aware of that in that moment and realize what is happening that you have identified with something in your mind believing that that is you believing you your very existence is threatened by somebody contradicting you it's unconscious that's why people get aggressive and negative energy flows the moment somebody contradicts you it just means somebody has a different opinion but the ego can't allow a different opinion because the ego fear its existence is threatened by a different opinion because egos identification was thought into mental position the this is on a personal level this can become an entire war between nations the similar pattern so you can at first you can see it let's say you have your observing two people having a discussion and of course let's say you are not involved then it's easier for you to see that process and work and realize that usually both of them become drawn into a very negative confrontation simply because it holds different opinions but it's for them it's more than an opinion it's their very self that's threatened it's an illusion but that's how it is perceived so it's in a it's a it's very fundamental and very basic to the you huge amount of conflict that arises in human interactions and it's basically so simple that it's just quite incomprehensible that people haven't realized by now that this is how it works and so but the pattern is so deep-seated that even people who are engaged in spirits will work for years still get drawn into that but in their mental position is threatened oh no matter how much spirituality there they are defending their very existence because the the pattern is very deep so alertness is required if you don't want to carry on in that way for the rest of your life and be part of that madness ultimately dysfunction ultimately because it creates continuous conflict and negative feelings and so on and interferes with the true relationship with another human being be aware in yourself of this process when and as it happens and for that you have to wait until the moment comes when somebody contradicts you or says no you're not right or I don't agree or whatever they say and then then you have to be alert what is it that comes up it wants to defeat the other or protect itself so that is very vital thing but presence is required you know the pattern is deep very deep-seated without the presence each time every time it will take you over and you'll be lost so alertness I can't remember what the question was but it's this is vital ah yes sometimes when I hear you talk about presence it seemed like you're describing state in which there's no mental or emotional content and yet I experience emotions in presence so we've been talking now just about experiencing the absence of presence and there's a mental emotional stream that comes up you can do it to yourself also you can have a discussion with yourself you can doubt yourself you can have an argument with yourself you can have one part of your mind accusing another part of your mind of being lazy for example of being not good enough and then you have can have a similar argument respond part of your mind split it's every insurances you should know better by now you should do better you why did you do this you you did it well I just couldn't help it even know presence so yes there can be presence when there are thoughts and emotions and it is vital that there should be presence in the background which means just you're aware that certain emotions are coming through you and you are not the emotion but you're the awareness you're aware that certain thoughts so there you aware that you have an opinion you're aware that you're voicing your opinion it's fine but you are not in the opinion your sense of self isn't in the opinion your sense of self is the awareness and then you can express an opinion and you can say the universe is in essence consciousness and then the other person says that's a load of rubbish or whatever they say mumbo-jumbo you are talking mumbo-jumbo where's the control me the consciousness or whatever the flat-footed materialist is saying to you and then observe see whether you actually know that you the universe which means you ultimately comes down to you as this is the way you experience in universe as yourself do you know that the universe is consciousness or you do you just believe that the universe at that moment are you the consciousness or are you to believe that you're conscious if you have the belief and you are the thought and then you'll be defending yourself or you'll be salting back at the other person that they are narrow-minded bigots or there is an awareness in the background and then you say the universe is the other person this a lot of rubbish then you say well I'm sure in your perception that's the universe is not consciousness and that's fine why should you believe that the universe that's not in within your reality fine you are entitled to believing that the universe is a soup of chemicals that's why that's your reality is perfectly I'm perfectly comfortable to allow you your reality of living in a soup of chemicals or whatever atoms floating around whatever it is or you the gray matter of the brain producing the illusion of consciousness or whatever it's fine no defensiveness anymore and no negative feelings this is why I liked the when Obama said you don't need to be disagreeable to disagree in don't need to become disagreeable when you disagree the deep implication is you're not identified with your mental position he couldn't say that because nobody would understand what he's talking about so well only some people would understand there's awareness in the background so presence or awareness is there while things happen in the foreground the foreground can be your thoughts the foreground can be your emotions the foreground can be whatever is happening around you and so their perceptions of whatever is happening outside this also you're not perceiving this through the screen of concepts or thoughts you're receiving through you know you are the awareness not the thoughts and even if a thought comes in says that person looks weird then you just have it you realize it's just a thought in your head and when you're finally communicating with that path you can still be the awareness and communicate s awareness rather than communicate as if the thought this person is weird were the reality ureas is just a thought that came into the head and you don't impose the thought on the person and then relate to that person as if it were true and you say and you know suddenly you're talking to this weird person what are you going to everything it'll just told everything or you want something what the thought suicide this person could be helpful to me whatever the ego says let's us thought be there as the oppressor the spacious presence now the question is yes thick of course there can be presence wild thoughts happen or emotions happen including sadness or anger but the questioner asks it seems like you're describing a state in which there's no mental or emotional content there's also the possibility of presence become becoming so intensified at times that all thoughts and emotions become obliterated this is very different from suppressing emotions or thoughts it's simply that the presence that arises become so intense that they're just sort emotions don't arise and usually it could happen in a limit situation is in existentialist philosophers call it when you life or death situation it could happen that presence sometimes can become so intense or it can become for no reason at all it can happen and you are simply sitting in your room and suddenly there's no thought whatsoever there's no emotion what it's just an intense aliveness it's not you haven't deadened yourself because that is sometimes we believe if you have no emotion you're dead you haven't dead into yourself yeah it's an intense aliveness it from kind of aliveness and in the emotion vibrantly alive field of intense consciousness so that can arise sometimes and it's beautiful I sometimes spend periods of time without thought and without emotion and it's beautiful nature walking around nature or with nothing particular to think about why think or sitting in a cafe drinking a cup of coffee why think be just be the alert presence so you have the presence can be there without it's thought and emotion at times that will happen or presence can be said it can be there as the background to whatever emotions or thoughts are there so and presence can be lost completely in which case all you have is thoughts and emotions and you will believe that you are the thought and emotion that's the unconscious state so for us it's important to be there as the emotions happen and I suggest you work particularly with people talking to people exchange of opinions and viewpoints observing aggression observing defensive nerves argue negativity flowing into just because somebody has not the same opinion that you have and then don't condemn yourself and say oh I shouldn't have I shouldn't be feeling this know just again observe that observe that suddenly you've become angry with this person and instead of saying oh dear that's I failed miserably while in my spiritual practice no just say okay I just just noticing that you're no longer in it you already out of it when you notice it so be compassionate with yourself just putting poor things nowhere so we all know the famous joke about the person when you tell the person why are you so angry the person says I am NOT angry and this of course is a typical example of somebody who doesn't know has absolutely no awareness in in the middle of anger denies that there's anger

Channel: Eckhart Tolle

Views: 507,903

Keywords: state of consciousness, consciousness, state of presence, eckhart tolle, eckhart tolle 2019, eckhart tolle presence, presence, devoid of emotion, emotions and presence, eckhart tolle thoughts and emotions, thought stream, becoming present, power of now, awakening, the present moment

Id: QBDlW3H5ZQQ

Length: 18min 32sec (1112 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 29 2019