Eckhart and I – by Bob Heath

Several years ago I went to see Eckhart Tolle at the Royal Festival Hall. I was relatively new to his work and keen to learn more. He didn’t disappoint. After about 15 minutes of audience anticipation, he finally appeared, moved across the stage with that characteristic, rather diffident shuffle, before coming to a halt, a slight figure in that large space. There followed a  couple of minutes’ silence – had he forgotten his lines? No – he had no lines to forget – and, as we were to discover, such silences are a key part of his message. I can’t remember how he started talking, but some two hours or so later he was still talking, until an aide made the appropriate gesture in his direction, and he stopped, took the ensuing applause, and shuffled off.

I can’t recall what I took away from that evening, perhaps nothing specific, but the occasion resonated for some time afterwards and, coupled with continuing study of Tolle’s writing, at our weekly Philosophy group meetings, things began to fall into place in terms of an ‘understanding’ of his message.

Some years later, I went to see Eckhart again. This time it was at the Royal Albert Hall. A symbolic change of venue, I thought, representative of his burgeoning audience and fame. (courtesy of that appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show!) He looked even smaller and slighter in this huge venue. The style and the message were similar though, and I marvelled at his ability to talk unscripted for such a length of time. Unscripted but not unprompted – the words were coming from somewhere, not from him but through him.

The main difference between this occasion and the previous one was the inclusion of a guided audience meditation. I can’t remember if it was in the middle or at the end, but it doesn’t matter. It was led by Eckhart’s partner – Kim Eng. The seating capacity of the royal Albert Hall is over 5,000, and that evening it was sold out. So, a mass guided meditation of 5,000 souls/minds, a collective raising of consciousness which lasted around 15 minutes, in silence – and it worked – an remarkable experience.

We continue to use Eckhart a lot in our Thursday group meetings, and indeed with other groups. Sometimes we will read the texts, but often we listen to a CD recording of Eckhart reading his works. The latter is probably more effective. One of his recurring messages is that the words are only pointers and can only do so much. Reading them off a page probably overstates their significance; listening to his voice, (and the pauses and silences) requires more concentration and seems to resonate more.

I suspect many are attracted to Eckhart’s message because of its two key characteristics – simplicity and practicality. After a period of study, basic tenets are recognised – being too much in the mind causes all sorts of problems and negative energy, so accentuate Being and let go of thinking and doing – You are not the mind – Free yourself from it – Cultivate Presence – Past and Future happen only in the Now – distinguish between clock and psychological Time – stop creating your own suffering. And so on. So much of this is sheer common sense and has proved so helpful on a personal level over (both types of) time.

Plus there’s a whole extra dimension to Tolle that we haven’t really explored as a group, i.e. the messages contained in his third book, A New Earth, described as ‘ A wake-up call for the entire planet.’

So what is it about Eckhart that makes him seem to be ‘authentic’ ‘the genuine article’ – if that is indeed what he is? There have been many, many examples, in our recent spiritual (i.e.from the 1960’s to present) history, of apparent messiahs turning out to be rogues, scoundrels, and indeed much worse. I’m sure the notion of the spiritual charlatan goes far far back into the mists of (clock) time.

Some people might not initially take Eckhart seriously. He’s supposed to be a spiritual teacher (he might query that) but he doesn’t look the part. He’s not a physically imposing figure. He wears normal (boring?) clothes. He resembles a hobbit and speaks (often at great length) in a heavily accented drone. He repeats himself. He keeps stopping and pausing and at times appears unable to put a sentence together. His ideas are vague and incomprehensible. He has an irritating laugh and finds his own jokes excessively amusing.

Eckhart would doubtless find this hilarious, not least because it’s so judgemental and labelling – and it goes so completely against his message. However, the above may well be barriers for some people, getting in the way of accessing what is being communicated. Conversely, Eckhart’s (superficial) ‘ordinariness’ is also his attraction – there seems to be  a genuine humility and ‘unassumingness’ which enable us to relate to him on our own level – let’s face it – some schools and organisations in the Philosophy / Spiritual domain can be daunting and unapproachable. It’s significant I think that I’m naturally inclined to call him ‘Eckhart’ (an adopted name, from the medieval German mystic, Meister Eckhart; his given name is Ulrich), rather than ‘Tolle’ or even ‘Mr/Herr Tolle’!

For an amusing insight into his everyday life, go to :

https://youtu.be/WmhGZDeGCBM

But, ‘ordinary’ he is not. Here is an individual who suffered a great deal of emotional pain before experiencing a profound spiritual awakening, one he was able to articulate clearly :

‘I was awakened by the chirping of a bird outside my window. To me this sound was like no other I had ever heard before. My eyes opened to the first light of dawn filtering through the curtains. Without any thought, I felt – knew – there was infinitely more light than we realise, and that the soft luminosity filtering through the curtains was love itself. 

With tears in my eyes I recognized the room and yet knew I had never truly seen it before. Everything was fresh and pristine, as if just having come into existence. Picking things up – a pencil, an empty bottle – I marvelled at the beauty and aliveness of it all. Later I walked round the city utterly amazed at the miracle of life on earth, as if I had just been born into the world.

For some months, I lived in an uninterrupted deep peace and bliss. Later, it diminished somewhat in intensity, or, perhaps, just seemed to because it became my natural state. I still functioned in the world but realised that nothing I did could possibly add anything to what I already had. When people came to me asking “How do I get what you have?”  I would say “You have it already, but you cannot feel it because your mind is making too much noise.”    

 (Power of Now)

How can we know if this actually happened? Well we can’t, but then why make it up? The experience bears all the hallmarks of similar awakenings – Tony Parsons, Bede Griffiths – and it underpins all that Eckhart has ‘done’ since in terms of conveying the message. I won’t say ‘his’ message because, as I suggested above, whatever it is seems to be channelled through him.

As with any philosophical / spiritual teachings, we temper our desire for knowledge and ultimately enlightenment and awakening with the filter of discrimination and what we are receptive to. I mentioned earlier the basic tenets of Eckhart’s message which, though initially challenging and even disturbing – everything happens in the present – can eventually be digested and assimilated. It’s a subtle process which we are probably not aware of and it operates beyond the realm of ‘rational’ thought. And it doesn’t necessarily happen every time. Some find aspects of the teaching quite off-putting, tedious or just downright nonsense. Eckhart is doubtless aware of this, and the form of some of his work, in a sort of composite question/answer format, can help articulate these misgivings and provide possible answers.(Or not!)

Like most contemporary spiritual teachers, Eckhart is tech and media-savvy. There are shedloads of materials on Youtube, which put a face and a persona to the name and facilitate accessing his message. Take a look at his website for an insight into his activities and current areas of interest. He travels a lot – hosting ‘An Evening with…’ currently Europe with South Africa lined up for early next year; there’s a shop where you can order books, CD’s, DVD’s and even gift cards; an ‘Eckhart Tolle Foundation’ (which takes donations), has been set up, (Bill Gates watch out) dedicated to ‘Changing the World from Within’ and featuring corporate phrases like ‘ our vision’, ‘our mission’ ‘our outreach’ and ‘partnerships’. Even more intriguing is the ‘private online community’ which requires a subscription and allows access to ‘over 300 hours of additional teachings’ and other delights.

This is par for the course for any self-respecting organisation (spiritual or otherwise) nowadays. It indicates that there is an ‘Eckhart brand’ and that it’s gone global. Typically, it’s all done in an understated and tasteful fashion and you’re not whipping out the credit card every five minutes (unlike some I could mention) it’s but clearly a business, and a big one at that.

I wonder what yer man’s attitude to all this is? He doesn’t strike me as a ‘give up all your material possessions and follow me’ type of guy. He is clearly worth a few quid nowadays, but I would imagine he’s pretty indifferent to and detached from, the everyday financial affairs of his organisation, allowing others to manage this. I may be entirely wrong on this, but one of his comments on the subject encapsulates his take on it : ‘Money can make people very unconscious’.

Go to : https://youtu.be/WmhGZDeGCBM

for more of Eckhart’s thoughts on money.

Ultimately, I’m sure he is ‘delighted’ that his organisation is so ‘successful’ (inverted commas used advisedly) as it indicates that his message is getting across to people globally and that ‘changing the world from within’ is possible.