Freedom from the Self, with Eckhart Tolle

But here the practice of being able to come to your senses, to look around, to listen to sense, to feel, perhaps to be aware of your breathing, perhaps to be aware of the aliveness in your body. Every cell is alive, but your attention is never there because you live in the, in the upper part of your, of the building building of your body. You live under the roof, no unaware of what's going on in the rest of the building. So you're in the, in the upper part of your, of the building building of your body. You live under the roof, no unaware of what's going on in the rest of the building. So your attention goes into, you might feel the body at the same time. It's all part of becoming present. You look around and there is a stillness arising. That is not the stillness, that is the stillness below thought. It is the stillness that is above thought. And that is spiritual awakening to encounter in yourself right now. So I'm not just talking about it right now. Encounter in yourself the possibility of accessing that dimension where for initially brief moments, you are free of thinking, but totally conscious. That's delicious. And at first it may not last for very long, but that doesn't matter. And you may find that even without practicing it consciously as a spiritual practice, you may find that it can also happen spontaneously in your life, for example, during certain activities that require your total presence. Because these activities have a certain element of danger to them, such as climbing up a rock wall or race driving racing car or surfing, probably skiing downhill. All these kinds of things require your complete presence. So they stop the mind and you're totally there and you go and you feel much more alive. Then you get almost addicted to that activity. Because why? It's not the activity ultimately, but that activity frees you from yourself. It frees you from your personality. During that moment, you are free of what the Buddha calls the self. You are free of that mind made entity. And it's so liberating. Oh, and this is why people get drawn to certain dangerous activities in order to experience this freedom from the self, which the Buddha said, it's an illusion. Ultimately. Ultimately, your personality, your personal selfhood, is an illusion. I don't necessarily call it illusion, I say it has its place. But in essence, it is not who you are. It is a brief manifestation of something deeper. In the same way that a ripple on the surface of the ocean is a brief manifestation of the totality of the ocean, and you are a brief manifestation. Your consciousness is a brief manifestation of the totality of universal consciousness. You have come out of universal consciousness briefly. And universal consciousness, through that it begins to realize itself in its essence through the ripple. Through the ripple, the ocean realizes its own essence, which you couldn't have realized without the ripple. And you are that ripple. And that's amazing. And so to realize that you are the ocean. What is the ocean in this analogy? Through the ripple. Through the ripple. The ocean in this analogy is consciousness, universal consciousness. Ocean realizes its own essence, which you couldn't have realized without the ripple. And you are that ripple. And that's amazing. And so to realize that you are the ocean. What is the ocean in this analogy? Of which you are a spark or a ray. You are a ray of the one universal conscious manifesting briefly as a person. But the ocean, this analogy, is consciousness, universal consciousness. The essence of who you are far transcends of which you are a spark or a ray. You are a ray of the one universal conscious manifesting briefly as a person. But this person, this personal selfhood, it's almost like the person or the personality is the seed for something far greater. So this I just mentioned, dangerous activities that can free the essence of who you are far transcends this person, this personal selfhood. It's almost like the be you briefly from yourself. Another thing that can free you from yourself is person or the personality is the seed for something far greater. So intense suffering and of whatever kind. And this has become brought about a spiritual awakening in many people who were faced with such extreme forms of suffering that it burned up their conceptualized sense of self and the ego. Because there was this, I just mentioned, dangerous activities that can free you briefly from yourself. Another thing that can free you from yourself is intense suffering. And of whatever kind and this has brought about, there's nothing left for the ego to attach itself to. For example, it has happened to some, to people who have lost everything all at once. They lost their home, they lost their livelihood, they lost their family. Sometimes as part of spiritual awakening. In many people who were faced with such extreme of some collective disaster or sometimes a personal disaster, they lost everything. All the things that made up their sense of self taken away from them. They went into intense forms of suffering that it burned up the conceptualized sense of self and the ego. Because there was nothing left for the ego to attach itself to. For example, it has happened to some, to people suffering. And that suffering became so deep that there was a moment when there was an individual who lost everything all at once. Curative realization that there's a depth to who I am that goes beyond anything that I'm experiencing here. And so suddenly they found this deep inner peace which Jesus calls the peace that passes all understanding. And they lost their home, they lost their livelihood, they lost their family. Sometimes as part of, wow, I've lost everything. Some collective disaster or sometimes personal disaster, they lost everything, all the things that made up their sense of self taken away from them. They went into intense intake, and yet they said, this is incredible. There's such deep peace here. This can happen through intense suffering, when life takes things away from you. It can happen as death approaches, approaching death, and if you no longer suffering. And that suffering became so deep that there was a moment when there was an intuitive realization that there's a depth to who I am that goes beyond anything that I'm experiencing here. And so suddenly they found this deep inner peace which you don't resist. You don't go into any future moment. You're totally. It can happen when the doctor tells you you have few more months to live, which means future has been taken away from you. And so all you have is you can go into the most. Jesus calls the peace that passes all understanding. And they went, wow, I've lost everything. And yet there's a. This is incredible. There's such deep peace here. This can happen. You go into future which isn't there anymore. You suffer, you can go into the past. You can go into becoming a victim, victim, get a victim identity of what life has done to me, what God has done to me, and have an even stronger conceptual identity. Or you can go so deeply into the present moment through intense suffering, when life takes things away from you. It can happen as death approaches, approaching death. And if you no longer you. You don't resist. You don't go into any future moment. You're totally. It can happen when the doctor tells you you have a few more months to live and that there's only this. There's even very little thinking anymore. There's just awareness, intense awareness of present moment. And this is the flowering of consciousness. That's the awakening, enlightenment, whatever you want to call it. And we are all going that way. But if you go, don't wait for intense suffering to happen. It may come or it may not. To some extent, it comes to everybody because death, which means future, has been taken away from you. And so all you have is life. You can go into the moment, you go into future which isn't there anymore. You suffer, you can go into the past. You can go into becoming a victim or moving obviously as physical vehicles. You're all moving towards get a victim identity of what life has done to me, what God has done to me, and have an even stronger conceptual identity. Or you can go so deeply into the present moment as is that news. No. So obviously on this level, only life can be considered a sexually transmitted disease with a fatal prognosis on this level that only this. There's even very little thinking anymore. There's just awareness, intense awareness of present moment. And this is the flowering of consciousness. That's the awakening, enlightenment, whatever you want to call it. And we are all going that way. But on a deeper level, life is consciousness. Life is what transcends all forms of life. Let's come back to the purely practical here. This moment here, coming to your senses. If you go, don't wait for intense suffering to happen. It may come or it may not. To some extent, it comes to everybody because death. You are all moving obviously as physical vehicles. You're all moving towards. And when you come to your senses, you are not only aware of what's happening in your senses, there's another possibility that opens up for you now. Yes. You look around, you see everything is more alive, more vibrantly alive than before death. Is that news? No. So obviously on this. On this level, only life can be considered a sexually transformed. You acknowledge the presence of everything. So you relate to the. The now and whatever appears in the now in a different way. You relate. You appreciate the beingness of things, of whatever is around you. You appreciate sensory experience without disease, with a fatal prognosis on this level. But on a on a deeper level, life is. Life is consciousness. Life is what transcends all forms of life. Let's come back to the purely practical here. This more getting addicted to sensory experience. You appreciate the aliveness of sensory experience. But now another possibility opens up moment here, coming to your senses. And when you come to your senses, you are not only open the possibility of a deeper awareness. Even while you are experiencing all your sensory perceptions and that is aware of what's happening in your senses. There's another possibility that opens up for you now. Yes. You look around, you see everything is more alive. Very subtle. It's very subtle. You go. In addition to more vibrantly alive than before, you acknowledge the presence of everything. So you relate to the what I'm experiencing through my senses. Is there anything else? At first you might say, no, that's about. That's it, that's this, the now. And whatever appears in the now. In a different way, you relate. You appreciate the beingness of things, of whatever is around you. You appreciate sensory experience without getting addicted to sensory experience. You appreciate the aliveness. This. This. Okay. Haven't you overlooked something? Well, of course you have. And what is it that you have overlooked? What you have overlooked is your presence. I call it your presence, but it would be probably more accurate to say the presence you have overlooked of sensory experience. But now another possibility opens up, the possibility of a deeper awareness even while you are experiencing all your sensory perceptions. And that is very subtle. It's very subtle. You go in addition to the one fundamental factor that underlies all your sense perception and even your thinking and your emotions, and that fundamental factor is your presence, which. What I'm experiencing through my senses. Is there anything else? At first you might say? No, that's about. That's it. This is your consciousness. This. This. Okay. Haven't you overlooked something? Well, of course you have. And what is it that you have overlooked? What you have overlooked is your presence. I call it your presence. But it would be probably more accurate to say the presence you have overlooked. The one fundamental factor that underlies all your sense perception and even your thinking and your emotions. And that fundamental factor is your presence, which is your consciousness.