Tolle's method is wrong

Hi,

I guess I found what's wrong with Eckhart Tolle's approach. He is suggesting the following:

"Become intensely conscious of the present moment."

This is not a good approach. Why? Because this is bad self-treatment. This is not love. The goal is not reaching the now, the goal is finding peace with oneself. Tolle's method gives more importance to the Now than the self. Consequently, it cannot work well.

The correct method is the following:

If I am not conscious of the present moment, this is normal. I have problems, I must solve them and my mind will naturally come back to the Now without effort.

When you do this, you are kind with yourself and you are naturally back to the now. You find peace with yourself and the now.

Look around and say:

"I cannot feel bliss, I cannot see and feel the wonders of life. This is normal because I have problems like everybody, fears and mental illusions, I am solving them slowly..."

This way you are in peace with yourself and with the now. Now is not an enemy anymore, something that you "must" achieve. You start loving the now, because you do not force yourself to love it. Consider the Now like a human. If you force yourself to love them, you cannot. We look at them, we say "I don't feel love, so what?" and we start to feel love. This is the same with the Now.

[Xan]

Yes... accepting yourself as you are in each moment gets you out of the 'normal' misery of human life.

In fact, this letting go of how we are resisting the Now is actually Tolle's method.


Xan

Originally Posted by Xan

Yes... accepting yourself as you are in each moment gets you out of the 'normal' misery of human life.

In fact, this letting go of how we are resisting the Now is actually Tolle's method.
Xan

I am sorry Xan, This is not Tolle's method. Tolle's method is "forcing self to stay in the Now". It is not a good method.

[Xan]

3d... In all my study of Tolle's teaching I never heard him even suggest 'forcing' oneself to stay present. You must have misinterpreted what he said.

But if his teaching is not right for you just leave it alone. Why keep fighting against it in your mind? How could that struggle allow you to ease into being more present, which is how it always works.


Xan

Originally Posted by Xan

3d... In all my study of Tolle's teaching I never heard him even suggest 'forcing' oneself to stay present. You must have misinterpreted what he said.

But if his teaching is not right for you just leave it alone. Why keep fighting against it in your mind? How could that struggle allow you to ease into being more present, which is how it always works.
Xan

From wikipedia:

The basic message of Tolle's book is that our mode of consciousness can be transformed. The key to becoming free of the egoic mind, with all its consequences, is to become deeply conscious of this present moment, or, as Tolle often calls it, "the Now."

From the Now book:

"In your everyday life, you can practice this by taking any routine activity that normally is only a means to an end and giving it your fullest attention, so that it becomes an end in itself. For example, every time you walk up and down the stairs in your house or place of work, pay close attention to every step, every movement, even your breathing. Be totally present. Or when you wash your hands, pay attention to all the sense perceptions associated with the activity the sound and feel of the water, the movement of your hands, the scent of the soap, and so on. Or when you get into your car, after you close the door, pause for a few seconds and observe the flow of your breath. Become aware of a silent but powerful sense of presence. There is one certain criterion by which you can measure your success in this practice: the degree of peace that you feel within."

This is bad self-treatment. This is exactly How I interpreted his book -> Forcing oneself to stay in the now, the get rid of this "ego".

The correct approach is:

"I don't care about the Now,
if my mind is not in the Now,
this is because I have problems
like everybody. I have solve these problems first.
I solve them slowly, without forcing myself. "

Magically, it works. We find peace with the Now. If it doesn't work, no problem. It may work later. The goal is not reaching the Now, the goal is finding peace with self. Now is the natural, secondary, result.

The fact that it is a best seller doesn't mean that the Tolle's book is correct. It only shows that the topic is interesting.

[Xan]

Originally Posted by 3dnow

From wikipedia:

The basic message of Tolle's book is that our mode of consciousness can be transformed. The key to becoming free of the egoic mind, with all its consequences, is to become deeply conscious of this present moment, or, as Tolle often calls it, "the Now."

From the Now book:

"In your everyday life, you can practice this by taking any routine activity that normally is only a means to an end and giving it your fullest attention, so that it becomes an end in itself. For example, every time you walk up and down the stairs in your house or place of work, pay close attention to every step, every movement, even your breathing. Be totally present. Or when you wash your hands, pay attention to all the sense perceptions associated with the activity the sound and feel of the water, the movement of your hands, the scent of the soap, and so on. Or when you get into your car, after you close the door, pause for a few seconds and observe the flow of your breath. Become aware of a silent but powerful sense of presence. There is one certain criterion by which you can measure your success in this practice: the degree of peace that you feel within."

This is bad self-treatment. This is exactly How I interpreted his book -> Forcing oneself to stay in the now, the get rid of this "ego".

The correct approach is...

3d... Your selections are a good overview of the Now teachings.

I find it a bit strange that you interpret "pay attention" and "become aware" as forcing... but I guess that is how you tried to do it, so of course it failed. For me shifting my attention is a relaxing and easing with my breathing.

If you have found an approach that works for you to shift away from the usual past-future mind activity and just be present in life as it is for you in each moment... that's a good thing.


blessings
Xan

Originally Posted by 3dnow

The correct approach is:

"I don't care about the Now,
if my mind is not in the Now,
this is because I have problems
like everybody. I have solve these problems first.
I solve them slowly, without forcing myself. "

But 3d, the problem with your approach is the assumption that you have to solve your problems or work on them. Some people have problems that cannot be solved, pain in life or body that cannot be escaped and for those people the Now (as in the bigger Now which is about more than the problems or pain) can be freedom. OTOH, I see your approach being very helpful on a path to self-acceptance and especially if one feels spiritually pressured to achieve some goal and that pressure in itself has become a problem.

Originally Posted by SunMist

But 3d, the problem with your approach is the assumption that you have to solve your problems or work on them. Some people have problems that cannot be solved, pain in life or body that cannot be escaped and for those people the Now (as in the bigger Now which is about more than the problems or pain) can be freedom. OTOH, I see your approach being very helpful on a path to self-acceptance and especially if one feels spiritually pressured to achieve some goal and that pressure in itself has become a problem.

Thank you for your comments SunMist.

Why the problems cannot be solved? If someone's body is severely damaged, this problem can be solved (easier said than done) by letting go the mortality illusion. When we let go this illusion we understand that we should not look for problems but when we have one we will learn a lot from this problem. The problem becomes an advantage.

When we understand this we gain power. Now that we solved the problem, our mind can stay in the now more easily.

I propose that we heal ourselves by letting go mental illusions, what remains will be the Now.

[Maguru]

Originally Posted by 3dnow

From wikipedia:

The basic message of Tolle's book is that our mode of consciousness can be transformed. The key to becoming free of the egoic mind, with all its consequences, is to become deeply conscious of this present moment, or, as Tolle often calls it, "the Now."

From the Now book:

"In your everyday life, you can practice this by taking any routine activity that normally is only a means to an end and giving it your fullest attention, so that it becomes an end in itself. For example, every time you walk up and down the stairs in your house or place of work, pay close attention to every step, every movement, even your breathing. Be totally present. Or when you wash your hands, pay attention to all the sense perceptions associated with the activity the sound and feel of the water, the movement of your hands, the scent of the soap, and so on. Or when you get into your car, after you close the door, pause for a few seconds and observe the flow of your breath. Become aware of a silent but powerful sense of presence. There is one certain criterion by which you can measure your success in this practice: the degree of peace that you feel within."

This is bad self-treatment. This is exactly How I interpreted his book -> Forcing oneself to stay in the now, the get rid of this "ego".

The correct approach is:

"I don't care about the Now,
if my mind is not in the Now,
this is because I have problems
like everybody. I have solve these problems first.
I solve them slowly, without forcing myself. "

Magically, it works. We find peace with the Now. If it doesn't work, no problem. It may work later. The goal is not reaching the Now, the goal is finding peace with self. Now is the natural, secondary, result.

The fact that it is a best seller doesn't mean that the Tolle's book is correct. It only shows that the topic is interesting.

I find focussing on the present moment very boring unless I'm engaged in something interesting. Washing my hands and paying attention to my steps doesn't cut it. I find by paying attention to ''who I am being'' in the present moment to be much more insightful and helpful.

Originally Posted by Xan

3d... In all my study of Tolle's teaching I never heard him even suggest 'forcing' oneself to stay present. You must have misinterpreted what he said.

But if his teaching is not right for you just leave it alone. Why keep fighting against it in your mind? How could that struggle allow you to ease into being more present, which is how it always works.


Xan

I like Tolle. Teehee. I didn't know this thread existed. ♥