Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings

In this podcast, Eckhart talks with an audience in Prague. He explains that most people are searching for an identity. For many that leads to disappointment. Eckhart uses the word dukkha which in Buddhism means suffering. He explains most of us are consumed with thoughts about our problems which become part of our identity. We also define ourselves through externals: our bodies, possessions, even our ancestry becomes an identity. Eckhart says many people don’t realize they are unhappy because they think it’s a normal state. Eckhart explains we’re looking in the wrong place because when we discover our true identity, we awaken spiritually. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPods  You can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN   

In this episode, Eckhart talks further about freeing ourselves from the ego. He says while it served a powerful purpose for our spiritual growth, it’s now time to let it go. Eckhart explains one of the pitfalls of the ego is our emotional reactivity. He says challenges have the potential to pull us into anger and fear. When we react, we’re at the mercy of situations and other people; they affect us internally. But they don’t have to because Eckhart says it's an enormous discovery to finally realize difficulties don’t have to derail us. Things can still go wrong but we don’t have to react and instead practice presence. Suddenly we find we’re more conscious because he says as we grow in awareness our emotional reactivity recedes. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPods  You can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN   

In this episode, Eckhart talks about the two different aspects of knowing: conceptual knowing and a deeper kind of intuitive knowing. He says indigenous cultures and people in the ancient world were deeply familiar with the idea that everything has a soul. They shared a profound empathy with nature and felt its aliveness. Eckhart says we have lost touch with this kind of knowing in current times. Through the overdevelopment of thinking, we have reduced the natural world to mental concepts. Today we think of evolution as a random process devoid of meaning. Eckhart says it’s the price we’ve paid for the over-emphasis on science and technology. To illustrate his point, Eckhart recalls a tour through a magnificent forest. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPods  You can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN   

In this podcast, Eckhart says as we grow spiritually, we approach the challenges in our lives differently. We may encounter obstacles or difficult people, but he says we don’t get discouraged. We should face the issue in front of us consciously because we’ve learned to accept the present moment with ease. The ego believes fighting against situations is real power, but the opposite is actually true. The ancient romans had a phrase: Amor Fati. Eckhart says it means to love what is. He explains true power comes when we love the Is-ness of the present moment, no matter what. Want more podcasts from OWN? Visit https://bit.ly/OWNPods  You can also watch Oprah’s Super Soul, The Oprah Winfrey Show and more of your favorite OWN shows on your TV! Visit https://bit.ly/find_OWN