How to Find Space around What Is Happening | 20 Minute Meditation with Eckhart Tolle

We are becoming comfortable with stillness. When there's nothing much happening, what's left is the stillness or the space that's always there underneath and around what's happening, but usually obscured by what's happening. And what's happening includes of course, the stream of thinking, not just external events and the arising of feelings, emotions. What's happening then is things arising, sense perceptions, all kinds of thoughts. And then the sense perceptions are perceived through the screen of thoughts. That's normal. And mostly these two, the external, the rising of sense perceptions, visual, auditory and so on. Things happening out there and things happening within. The continuous arising and subsiding of the stream of thinking and the emotions that often go with it. That together is what's happening. And what is usually considered, what you may usually consider should be your life. My life is what's happening in my life, good or bad. And of course the good or the bad is already part of the arising of thinking that judges the external event as good or bad. I like, I dislike. And then you perceive the external through your likes and dislikes, I want, I fear, thought forms. And then you perceive the external through your wants and fears and all that becomes your life. People don't realize that mechanism, the underlying structure of what they call my life. And so that is what absorbs most people's attention completely. Their thinking, emotions and external things happening, demanding attention, they come together. So is that all there is or is there another dimension to your so called your life? My life? Is there another dimension to my life that is transcendent to what's happening, what's arising? Well, you could say there's God, but for most people God is another thought form. I believe in God. Another thought form arising. So we are here to find not some belief, but to go deeper where we can actually realize at first hand a dimension that is deeper than what's happening, what you call your life that frees you from the limitations of your life. Because you may have noticed your life is full of limitations. Even if you are rich and famous, it has its full of limitations. Doesn't matter, young or old, the older you get, the more you realize, yes, there is a limitation of my lifespan. When you are younger, there are other limitations. And no matter where you go and what you encounter, you encounter new limitations. Doesn't mean you shouldn't go out and try things. That's fine. It's all part of this dimension of the physical realm. But a life that consists only of forms that arise, things that are happening in my mind or outside an identity that is Built out of those forms that arise is always limited and limiting. You're trapped in a self, a little self, and even the biggest self. Of the big egos out there who look big and powerful, they are trapped in. In the limitations of their self. And sooner or later they realize it. Well, some people very late, just a few moments before they die, very limited, trapped in a self. And so there's no ultimate satisfaction. No matter what you add to the self. Doesn't mean you shouldn't add anything. But what every human being really is looking for is something very deep, an essence everybody is ultimately looking for themselves. Something that is not subject to decay, loss, death. And that, of course, is already there in you at this moment. Where is it? If you pay attention to the spaces between the words as you listen here, rather than just be interested in the words, because the words are what's happening, the words that you hear become thoughts in your mind. It's what's happening. If you're only listening to the words, you encounter the limitations again. And the limitation here of these words is, what's he talking about? He's not saying enough. He's not giving me new information. That's right. So if you only listen to the words, then there's no real depth to you being here, listening. There's only a surface phenomenon of sounds that are being perceived, become decoded by the brain and become thoughts. But if you can listen or be aware of the space is between the words, then something opens up that is deeper than what is happening here. So you have the surface event of what's happening here. We call it our live meditation is happening. Okay, that's interesting. No, it isn't. It's not about interesting. Because interesting is about what's going to happen next. Or look. Oh, that's. This is not interesting. It's deeper than interesting. So if you can be aware of the spaces between the words, something arises there that has nothing to do with what's happening. Something arises there that has nothing to do with what's happening and that cannot be named easily. What it is that arises when you listen, are aware of the space here. It's the space between words. It could also be called the space in which these words are being perceived. There must be a consciousness in which these words are being perceived. And that is a dimension deeper than the world of fluctuating forms. And that is deeper than what you call my life. And that's why I call this life itself. And what you usually call your life is your life situation with its limitations and there's only one way to transcend the limitations so that you are not trapped in a little self mind made self with its fears and desires and likes and dislikes for the rest of your life. Know nothing else but interacting with the world through your fears, desires, likes and dislikes. That's a very limited way of being here. But although a new consciousness is arising and this is why we're here, this is still the fate of most humans on the planet. They have not encountered yet the transcendent dimension to their lives, which is who they are in their essence. Transcendent. We call it transcendent because it transcends the world of form, physical forms or thought forms. And at this moment, if your mind is trying to figure out what that means, you become frustrated or you make it into some philosophy. That's not it. Becoming aware of the spaces in your life. And we start here and now by becoming aware of the spaces between the thoughts, the words. What is that? Nothing. Okay. From the point of view of the sense perceived world and the world of thought, it is nothing because that space has no form. It's just between the words there is and emptiness. But it's more than that. Any word we attach to it is not going to be right. It limits it. Again, it is what the ancient Chinese scripture Tao Te Ching talks about. The Tao that can be named, is not it? If you can name it, you've already reduced it. So we're here to experience what that is with a few little hints just to the mind likes to just understand a little bit so we can. We're here to give pointers, to say, okay, what is this? How do we, how are we able to realize this not just as we sit here, but in everyday life? First we need to see the extreme importance of encountering that dimension in yourself, to have it in your life, so that your life becomes deeper than the things of your life. Pointers to see. Okay, what, what is this? How are we able to realize this not just as we sit here, but in everyday life? First, we need to see the extreme importance of encountering that dimension in yourself, to have it in your life, so that your life becomes deeper than the things of your life. It.