Awakening through Loss | Eckhart Tolle

When the ego weeps for what it has lost, the spirit rejoices for what it has found. So there's no need to demand that external conditions should be perfect so that you can become still. In fact, it's sometimes the case that it's precisely when external conditions are seemingly unhelpful. That can sometimes be a great opportunity to find that true stillness. And especially that is the case when external circumstances have the appearance of actually being a hindrance. Something disturbing, something happening that upsets the status quo in your life. And those are great opportunities. Because then your motivation for going deeper, as you suffer, when things happen in your external life that should not be happening, then you begin to suffer. And as you suffer, the motivation eventually arises of going deeper, of finding the place where there is no suffering. And you could still suffer a little bit on the external level of your life. So sooner or later, we find in our life that life does things to us. Seemingly putting obstacles in our path, seemingly having bad intentions towards us. We experience diminishment in some form. Of course, the ego says, or the egoic self says, that's terrible. I don't want any diminishment. Diminishment meaning loss of something that had become part of your sense of self. It could be loss of possessions, could be loss of a relationship, loss of a loved one. Loss of a healthy body. Diminishment of physical health. Loss of your Persona, of what other people think of you. One day they tell you that you're the greatest. And the next day they tell you you're aware. Diminishment of whatever kind is abhorrent to the egoic self. There's a beautiful saying. I believe it comes originally. I'm not sure, but it doesn't matter where it comes. It comes out of consciousness, so it doesn't really matter. But I believe it comes originally out of Sufism. And that is when the ego weeps for what it has lost. The spirit rejoices for what it has found. And those people who. There's no human, by the way, who does not experience this in life several times. Sooner or later, the next one comes. Some people experience it even very early in life. Some children experience loss of a parent, of both parents. So diminishment comes sooner or later. How do you meet it, recognize it when it comes? Not as a monster or the work of some malevolent deity or demon that wants to sabotage your life, but as an opportunity also. Now, you may not be able to be grateful for it in the moment of it happening. That would be Perhaps, perhaps too much to ask. But you will find that later, a year may pass, two years, depending on what it is. Suddenly realize that it has taken you deeper into the essence of who you are. Because something was removed from you that you thought you were, but it was a fiction ultimately you had identified with something that ultimately is not who you are. It's a temporary thing. Possessions, not status, great physically strong body, good looks, relationship. And then retrospectively, very often you are able to be grateful for the loss, for the diminishment, because it drove you deeper, it brought out the essence of who you are beyond any form. Now it does not do that to all humans. It's for everybody. Diminishment is only a potential deepening the possibility is there. Many, many humans are not able to use it because nobody has told them the knowledge. This kind of spiritual knowledge is still very limited. It is not part of mainstream culture. People are dying every day without having any true assistance. People who are approaching death, who are getting old, our mainstream culture still knows nothing. It's just, let's prolong life as for as long as possible. Even if it's totally pointless and it creates a lot of suffering. Let's just because we don't know what to do with death. That's one of the reasons why the foundation will hopefully be able to reach people, to use the opportunity of this greatest diminishment, which is death. The greatest, as you approach death, an enormous opportunity for spiritual awakening, realization. But many humans of course miss the opportunity of that diminishment. And with a result that the ego becomes even more hardened through it. Or in the words of brother David, shriveled, shriveled up to an even harder lifeless thing. Then either you carry continuous anger or resentment or despondency for years, which becomes part of your egoic identity. And the ego loves any kind of identity. If it's a miserable one, doesn't matter, have it. Just give me a strong identity. I take miserable any time over being nobody. So the opportunity of diminishment is missed. Often you see when people, they're wealthy people and suddenly something happens. They lose their money and then they jump out of the window because their entire sense of self was associated with their possessions. There are people who lose their reputation. You remember of course, the case of Mr. Madoff a few years ago, who had this scheme, fraudulent schemes, and people lost. Millions of billions of people were investing with him on Wall street. They lost. It was a pyramid, it was a Ponzi scheme, I think is the word. So he was Deceiving all these people. And they lost all their money. And he had accumulated billions. And then finally it all collapsed. Now he's in prison and his sons couldn't take it. One of his sons. Apparently the sons didn't know what was going on. I don't know if that's true, but they were also working in his firm, in his company, I believe. One died of cancer soon after and the other committed suicide. Would have been a great opportunity. If only somebody had told them, you've lost your money, you've lost your reputation. This is a great opportunity. Find yourself. The opening is there, but it's just lack of information. Nobody told them. I hadn't actually thought of this until this moment. Because we want to bring the teaching to places where it otherwise would not be go or not reach. And I just thought of Wall Street. We will donate books and CDs to boss. So we'll have to call Goldman Sachs tomorrow, see if they agree. Now they won't be very interested, perhaps at the moment, but they may become interested in the future. Just wait. So you have already. I believe everybody here has already experienced some forms of diminishment, to use that word, through the physical form, the psychological me entity. And for many, the reason why you're here, it's because you've gone through that and it has deepened you. Even the collapse of a relationship. You don't have to be married, but you have a relationship doesn't go well, it ends. It's a little death. It can be painful. It leaves a little hole in you. It seemingly rips something out of you. And for quite a while you feel it. It's not pleasant, but there too is an opportunity. So when the ego weeps for what it has lost. Oh dear. So terrible. I'll tell you what happened. And I'll tell myself what happened. Even if nobody's listening, it'll go, I can't take any more of this. I just can't take this. It's just too much. What's the point of it all? Just completely. It's good to act out the ego sometimes, because then you can actually see it. It's like a reflection in the mirror. Because it's funny, because you remember, everybody knows, familiar with it in some way, and that's why it becomes funny. I'm learning from Marianne yesterday because she has other ways of acting out the ego. It's a little bit more feminine, but I can try that too. It may look a little weird when I do it, but it's. There's a lot in it that doesn't really need to be explained in words. Just this simple gesture implies a self image. To look at yourself through a self image. Let me it.