Quote:
Originally Posted by mudra
Core teachings of Eckhart Tolle:
1. You are not your thoughts. You are the awareness behind the thoughts. Thoughts are often negative and painful, yearning for or fearing something in the future, complaining about something in the present or fearing a matter from the past. However, the thoughts are not you; they are a construct of the ego. Awareness of your thoughts without being caught up in them is the first step to freedom.
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I mean no offense but I have some disagreement with this theory. Our thoughts, emotions, and sensations are the products of our body/mind systems and are actually composed of 'you'. The entirety of what we experience (the perception of ourselves and the world) can be demonstrated to be a brain generated virtual reality, an illusion, through simple experiments. The observer (what is referred to as 'awareness behind the thoughts') and the observed (all thought and sensation of ourselves and the world) are in fact one and the same mind. The mind must play these two roles, the observed world and the observer, to enable the individual to 'experience' anything. To see your thoughts and emotions as not part of your true self is incorrect I think. The true or "real self" (your actual real world body as opposed to the mind's representation of it) logically cannot be experienced normally (I have never experienced it to my knowledge). All that we experience is in actually our minds, an illusionary representation of the real world and us in it. To understand and embrace that the totality of your experience is actually composed of 'yourself' and that its all 'you' seems healthier and closer to the truth to me personally. Fragmentation of the self through disassociation doesn't.
I think points 2 and 3 are good advice and agree with them wholeheartedly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mudra
4. Observe the pain-body. ...
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I must admit I have never quite understood what he was getting at about 'the pain-body' but that helps a bit. It still smacks of disassociation to me to a great degree but I think I understand what he is getting at a little better. Recognizing
conditioned responses (the pain body?) in ourselves as what they are is a good thing and not something everyone naturally does I'm afraid.
I used to believe I was a soul living in a flesh and blood body as per the Christian mythos. For the over 35 or 40 years I was a Christian the mechanics of how and why that would be so never was explained to my satisfaction by anyone I met or read. After I lost my faith and allowed myself to entertain other thoughts and possibilities my understanding of myself as a whole, complete, and unified being became clearer. My thoughts are part of me. My emotions are part of me. My awareness of them is another function of
my mind which is generated by
my body. I think anyone can demonstrate these things to themselves through simple practical and thought experimentation.
We are all on a search for peace and understanding of ourselves and the world we find ourselves in, I wish everyone good luck and hope we all find something that aids us in our journeys through this life. It's early, I'm rambling, and I need another cup of coffee.
Peace.