Thank You Eckhart Tolle and Oprah Winfrey
Written on July 12, 2008 by Tom Stine
A short and sweet article for today. I simply want to state my gratitude to Eckhart Tolle and Oprah Winfrey for what they’ve given us with their collaboration a few months back in the excellent series of webinars on Oprah.com. And what have they given us? A populace buzzing with interest in our passion: spirituality. And not just any old spirituality, not your garden variety spirituality that sounds like the humdrum world of church and religion. No, I’m talking the kind of spirituality that ultimately leads to spiritual awakening.
You see, Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth, is really about spiritual awakening. He never says it in his book, for quite likely good reasons, but nonetheless, that is the purpose of it. When the ego fades, when that which we are realizes that it is not a separate self living a life of separation from the rest of life and humanity, we call that spiritual awakening. The Buddhists call it enlightenment. But in contemporary terms, I prefer to think of it as an awakening, a waking up from the dream that we are separate.
By bringing this book to the awareness of millions of people, Eckhart and Oprah have put spiritual awakening on the playing field. No longer is it the province of eccentric spiritual seekers, Zen students and residents of ashrams. It is in the mainstream consciousness of the world.
I’ve been hearing stories, from friends, from people I meet on trips, in the media, everywhere, of people picking-up A New Earth and being changed by it. One friend in particular has reported a dramatic change in her otherwise conservative, devout Catholic mother, a change that has resulted in a happier person. I even saw a woman reading A New Earth at my son’s taekwondo school (and, if you recall, I live in the Bible Belt!).
If you visit Barnes & Noble or any large bookstore, you will notice that the books on spirituality, Eastern religions, new age metaphysics, etc, have grown in number. The end caps are filled with books about “the universal field,” consciousness, The Tao of Peeling Potatoes, Zen for Dummies, you name it. It really is astounding. Maybe the Age of Aquarius has finally arrived?
So, no matter what you think of Eckhart Tolle’s book (or Oprah for that matter), you cannot deny that they both have done you and me a service. Spritual awakening is out of the closet and in the consciousness of the world. So, thank you Eckhart and Oprah, and a deep bow to both of you. I think the “future” of our planet might turn out better than anyone could expect. Namaste.
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on July 12th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
For sure. A big thank you to them, as well as to all spiritual seekers and teachers sharing their truths with the world. It seems like this new age is going to be ushered in with spiritual truth coming in from many many teachers rather than one prominent teacher. The world’s consciousness seems to be high enough now whereby enough people can awaken and become the living truth themselves, thereby awakening others and further accelerating the snowball of consciousness in the world.
Nevertheless, people like Eckhart Tolle and Oprah Winfrey deserve a great deal of gratitude and appreciation for their work on getting these messages out to the general public.
on July 13th, 2008 at 11:37 am
@Ariel I’m glad to see that someone appreciates what Eckhart has done. As I said, I’m not sure I completely agree with Eckhart, but I’m thrilled that he has put a new level of consciousness into the subject of awakening.
on July 14th, 2008 at 2:39 am
Tom, isn’t the name of the game that you don’t have to completely agree (with Eckart or whoever)?
For example my favourite novel, Siddharta by Herman Hesse, seems to be about Siddharta struggling to find a universal truth, that applies to all. In the end Siddharta is simply ‘happy’ to find *his own* truth - a truth that he is not necessarily able to share or teach, but a truth nevertheless.
Btw, I enjoy reading your thoughts on spirituality in your blog, even though I’m not completely sure I understand all of them. Lol
Steve
on July 14th, 2008 at 9:43 am
@Steve I doubt we will ever agree! You are quite right. The one thing we all share is we are all One. But the expression of that is unique. I guess that’s why there are so many different teachers and teachings.
I’m glad you read and enjoy my blog. No need to understand it all. I sure don’t! LOL Thanks for the comments. Namaste.
on July 14th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Tom,
A worthy shoutout for Eckhart and Oprah. I was brought up atheist, and have always been suspect of religion. When I first started listening to the E & O podcasts I was skeptical to be sure, but as I continued on I was amazed by how practical the teachings are. It has clarified the difference between spirituality and religion for me. I can’t say it has totally changed my life, but I can sense a new perspective creeping into my mind that seems to sit well with me.
MonkMojo’s last blog post..Expectations: The Dark Side of Positive Thinking
on July 14th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
@MonkMojo You know, I’ve heard lots of good stuff about the E&O show. I’ve listened a bit, and really like to hear Eckhart speak. For some reason, I resonate with his spoken words more than written words. Truth shines through him. I know he has his critics, but so what? He’s done some good.
on July 14th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Hi Tom - great to find this… At first glance I didn’t believe ET was having a genuine experience - or that he was relating a gen. experience. Why? His shirt. Huh? Yeah, his silky or satiny shirt I saw him wearing on Oprah. It was obviously an incredibly expensive shirt and one that was meant to be stylish and new agey. It was too much. It smacked of falseness.
Why? I remember years ago when I was first getting into the Jhanas… there was a transformation of the mind that made all desires go away. Literally, there were very very few things left that could have been considered desire, and they centered around food. I still had hunger - physical hunger.
Even in that state, and I was not enlightened, I couldn’t consider for 1/2 a second to wear a shirt that others would find acceptable or nice on TV. It wasn’t a possibility for the mind at that time. I suppose if someone put it on me - and told me to go out to talk to oprah I would wear it and it would mean nothing. Not knowing the situation - maybe that’s what happened.
The other thoughts I had… In that state I had no desire to talk to others about the state. It was as it was and everything was fine… no wants, needs, no dysfunction… and no need to share things that had happened during jhanas. I even stopped my own journal because, as fantastic as the experiences were - writing them down was nothing that held appeal for me. It would have been acting against myself to write them down if that makes any sense. To speak of them with strangers would have been impossible because I didn’t feel that my experiences were any more important than anyone else’s. I didn’t feel I had anything to teach anyone. ET knows he’s a teacher. How that came about as a result of a process of enlightenment I’m not sure. It wasn’t moving that direction for me. It may well be true - but it wasn’t my experience at all.
Again, I’m not enlightened… but the process that leads to enlightenment was going rather strong… the jhanas and even the divine eye occurred… and there was none of the desire or impetus to go and do anything to record it in any way, to talk and share it in anyway, to give any thought to clothes or of all things, writing a book about it!
I believe that ET may have experienced the Joy and Bliss and ecstasy of the state that precedes and accompanies jhana 1 - but did he go any deeper than that?
I can’t deny that to have many hundreds of thousands of people talking about these experiences - is INCREDIBLE. Who would have thought? I love that. I am all for bringing an awareness of the subject to the masses - I couldn’t have believed it before I saw it.
Whether what he’s saying has any real value in really going forward in the process or not - I don’t know. What I mean is - he asks the audience to be mindful of moments when the mind is not there - moments of being in the moment you might say… and that is great… however, to be aware of those moments and even to be mindful of present moment - is that going to lead to a revolution in the mind? I’m not sure.
I didn’t go that route - so, hard for me to accept that it works. It may well. I know what worked for me and it’s more about focusing on breath until the mind calms and stops and THEN watching that space… maybe it turns to jhana… or not.. but there is a peace and profound calm and balance that comes out of that which can last for hours and days - that is so much more meaningful than noticing small moments of it during the day which I don’t know - can it lead to longer moments? Deeper states? My guess is no… but, who knows!
One thing I liked about when ET speaks- he always says yes to the question that is asked… in the state I had… there was also that same response… everything IS yes and no so the answer is always yes, depending on what exactly a general question is asking…
I had other reasons for not believing in ET’s experience but no finger strength left to keep writing! lol. Thanks for the post Tom!
on July 15th, 2008 at 4:37 am
@Vern
I am not sure I understand what you are trying to say, but it is a very interesting comment.
So you do not believe it is a genuine experience because of his shirt? I just want to be clear on what you have said.
Is the fact his shirt shows his experience is lacking? Or could it be you have an idea of what an enlightened person should look like? Do you see the difference?
Is it in your mind that enlightened people should follow certain paths, dress a certain way, or talk a certain way? I am not saying yes it is or no it isn’t, I am genuinely asking. Is it his limited experience or your limited idea?
I don’t know anything about Tolle. I have not read his books, and I didn’t pay too much attention to the Oprah thing, so it is not as if I am a follower of his. But it is interesting to question these things as they arise.
Of course, I may have entirely mis-read your comment, so you may want to ignore this altogether.
Takuin Minamoto’s last blog post..What is Your Point of View?
on July 15th, 2008 at 7:25 am
@takuin. No of course I don’t want to ignore your comment. I expected someone to say something! lol. I know it sounds funny and I’m coming from a place that is foreign to you… I understand that. I said at first glance that’s what caught my eye… his shirt. It just didn’t mesh with what I’ve experienced on the path. One of the very first things that goes away early on in meditation and definitely by the time I was experiencing jhanas is that idea in my head that I need to act or be a certain way for other people.
To consider what I was wearing any longer than the 1 second it takes to pull my drawer open and grab a shirt wouldn’t have any point, there’s no thought required in that decision - arm reaches in - pulls out shirt, it goes on body and no more thought goes into it. There’s no point in concerning yourself with such things… A shirt is a shirt is a shirt. Doesn’t matter if I’m going to exercise or going to eat at a restaurant… Doesn’t matter if I’m going to meet Oprah or Jesus.
Did you see his shirt? Lol. I assumed he picked his own shirt out - and maybe wrongly. Like I said, someone could have dressed him up and made him play the role that the audience wanted to see him in. That happens. Would an enlightened person go to a store and buy the shirt he wore that time I saw him?
No. Not in my experience… it would be beyond possible. As a person moves closer to enlightenment there is a lessening of the ego… of the self… of ideas that appearance means anything at all. Appearance meaning anything comes from society, not within. Would an enlightened person wear a shirt someone gave him or asked him to wear for the show? Maybe yes, maybe no.
Did anyone write about the amazing skunk fur coat that the Buddha wore after his enlightenment? Yeah, he paraded that thing up and down the village paths like he was working the catwalk. I wonder why they didn’t write about that…
Do I think he’s not enlightened because of his shirt? No, not just because of his shirt - it’s a piece of data that didn’t make sense to me. What about your shirt - I can see that looks like a NICE black shirt… who were you impressing with that shirt?
Is it in my mind that an enlightened person should act, dress or follow specific paths or talk a certain way - no and yes. I’ve not met anyone enlightened before. I’ve looked. Cannot find. I’ve really looked. Cannot find. Those that I know that have meditated and experienced jhanas or other absorption seem to not care one way or another about how they look to the rest of mankind. Does that conflict with your experience?
If we ever see an enlightened person - he won’t be on Operah in a silky shiny $100 shirt talking about his new book… In my mind - that is the truth. lol.
hahaha. Sorry, having fun with this… as I said and you chose to ignore, there were other reasons I didn’t believe strongly in his experience - but I just don’t care enough to write book length comments about it. If I offended you - so sorry. If you don’t get the humor in it - no worries, I shouldn’t poke fun at the subject because many people take it very seriously. I don’t.
Why are you looking down in your gravatar? I’ve never seen a photo like that… does it mean something? What are you looking at? What was the intent of a photo like that? Just curious…
Thanks for writing I found your questions interesting. - Vern
on July 15th, 2008 at 9:52 am
@Vern and Takuin I’m going to post an article in a little bit as a response. I have too much to say for one comment.
on July 15th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
@ Tom and Vern
I’ll go into this on my own blog. The article is up, and hopefully Tom’s commentluv will pick it up.
I’ll talk to you all soon.
Takuin Minamoto’s last blog post..Questions Arise?
on July 18th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I watched the series and found it inspiring. Partly to see such a conversation - including silence - in front of a large audience. But even more because it drew so many people. THAT is the illustration of the change underway. That it happened, but even more that it was heard.
From what I’ve read, Tolle had no aspirations to be a teacher. Indeed, he considers himself an unlikly one. It is simply what developed.
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