Eckhart Tolle reads the Bible for spiritual truth rather than literal history, finding "jewels" in passages like "I am, I am the I am." He interprets this as pointing to the timeless presence underlying all life, the source of thought and creation, and the path to God-realization and ego dissolution.
And God said, I am, I am the I am. And the prophet said, what? Sorry, that's my version of it. An emanation, if you can feel within yourself, In the stillness of presence, you feel that the power of presence in you, that's the power out of which everything comes, every thought comes out of that, everything comes out of that. And you feel that is the creative power of the universe. You feel the power of presence in you far transcends who you are as a person. As I said, it's a garment, The presence has disguised itself in this temporary garment, and you feel the power of presence in you, and that is God-realization in you that liberates you from being trapped in a personal sense of self. And then you would never feel that you are greater than anybody else, because that is the essence of all beings. They may not know it, but you're not greater or lesser than anything. That is the oneness, the recognition of oneness. And one more quote from the Old Testament. The Old Testament has all kinds of things in it, as you probably know. Some of this is great, some of it is totally just culturally conditioned from ancient times, but I look for the jewels. I don't look for the things I disagree with. I look for the— I look for the good. I look for the jewels. And one of the great jewels is, other than the be still and know that I am God, when the prophet, whoever it was, Abraham, Moses, goes up the mountain and— Moses. This is a story, so it's not literally true, but there is a truth hiding behind it. He goes up the mountain and he meets God. And I think God says, don't look at me, you won't live if you look at me. Okay? And eventually he asks God, okay, I'm going to go down from the mountain, but What shall I tell my people down there who I was speaking to? What's your name? And God said, I am. I am the I am. And the prophet said, what? Sorry, that's my version of it. The what isn't in the Bible. But he didn't— I don't think he quite got it. But, and then, and God said, yes, go down and tell your people that the I Am spoke to you. The I Am spoke to you. God is the timeless, eternal I Am presence in every Life form. That's wonderful. Thank you. Thank you.
Why alcohol feels like relief, and what it is really giving you | Eckhart Tolle
