Tolle's method is wrong

Originally Posted by 3dnow

I read it 30 times Tolle's book. I read the second one too, I couldn't find what I am looking for:

If my mind is not in the now, there is a reason. I should find it.

I was going to say, well, it wouldn't hurt..but then i quickly recalled my self exploration journey
and realized a lot of the initial revelations did hurt.
So instead, i will say, you seem to have shared a lot already as to why you do not want to be in the present moment.

Plus, if you are looking for something specific, if you are focused on that thing,
perhaps there is a chance you will not see other things that may be of assistance,
things that may lead you to the specific think you are looking for.

Also, if you are not finding what you are looking for in one area, perhaps this is not the area for you, or your sight is hindered.
Considering you read the book 30 times looking for something specific,
why do you think you would find this thing in there?

And last but not least, i find it a good practice, as part of my balanced approach,
to sometimes not look for anything specific, but simply to look at everything, openly, inquisitively, with unbiased inner sight.
I discovered how to single post link using this technique.

Originally Posted by peacegarden

Then why not let him go? Why keep yourself stuck finding faults in one teacher that doesn't work for you?

There are millions of books on the subject

What am I doing here PG?
To let go an idea you have to find what's wrong with it. This is exactly what I am doing.

So your message has really no meaning.

[Silver]

Originally Posted by 3dnow

The fact that billions likes his work only means that the topic is interesting.

He is correct about the problem, but his method is not really correct to me. What he says is like: The power of playing guitar.

If I cannot play, there should be some reason. I have to find it.

Hardly ~ just because Oprah liked his book - yeah, lots will read just because of that, but that many readers would just go meh, and throw it out or give it away or whatever and it wouldn't have the kind of excitement that comes with an author who says what they say - there's some amazing stuff in those books of his. I failed to grasp TPON all that well, but ANE was fantastic.

Originally Posted by 3dnow

To let go an idea you have to find what's wrong with it.

Why? I have read a lot of books that have been recommended that do nothing for me. I really don't have time to find what's wrong each and every one of them. Plus it's not so much as what is wrong with it, than what is wrong with my interpretation of it.

I'd rather move on and find something that does work for me. That is much more beneficial to my growth.

[blackraven]

Originally Posted by 3dnow

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.

3DNOW - I have to agree with you in that Tolle's theory isn't practical in every sense. When someone dissociates from an extremely painful event like warfare or rape it to protect their healthy self from repeated injury by their memories that Tolle would have them face. Sometimes dissociation prevents suicide. There isn't a textbook solution for everyone.

Blackraven

Originally Posted by Silvergirl

Hardly ~ just because Oprah liked his book - yeah, lots will read just because of that, but that many readers would just go meh, and throw it out or give it away or whatever and it wouldn't have the kind of excitement that comes with an author who says what they say - there's some amazing stuff in those books of his. I failed to grasp TPON all that well, but ANE was fantastic.

You have the right to prefer Tolle's method, of course.

But in this case, if you enter the discussion, you have to tell me why it is correct.

Originally Posted by blackraven

3DNOW - I have to agree with you in that Tolle's theory isn't practical in every sense. When someone dissociates from an extremely painful event like warfare or rape it to protect their healthy self from repeated injury by their memories that Tolle would have them face. Sometimes dissociation prevents suicide. There isn't a textbook solution for everyone.

Blackraven

I agree with you. When we experience a painful event, we cannot stay in the now. Because there are mental illusions that prevent it. For example, if we let go the mortality illusion we can forgive the past more easily since we understand that we will learn a lot from this difficult experience. Then we find peace and we can stay in the now.

This is how I see it.

Originally Posted by peacegarden

Why? I have read a lot of books that have been recommended that do nothing for me. I really don't have time to find what's wrong each and every one of them. Plus it's not so much as what is wrong with it, than what is wrong with my interpretation of it.

I'd rather move on and find something that does work for me. That is much more beneficial to my growth.

The real question here PG is why you are worried about what I do. I want to find better than Tolle's method. Why not?

Originally Posted by 3dnow

To let go an idea you have to find what's wrong with it. This is exactly what I am doing.

Why would you assume that something is wrong with an idea in order to let it go? Perhaps the idea is inherently sound but not for you? Unfortunately I don't see that you have a good grasp of what he teaches. He is not a new age pioneer for nothing - that should tell you something.

You have said that Tolle tries to get rid of ego - this is misleading. He enables us to go beyond this state so that our egoic mind doesn't run our life. Our problems come from this egoic mind, e.g. in various forms of fear which takes place in time....hence why the focus is escaping it in the now. If I may quote here from The Power Of Now:-

"When every cell of your body is so present that it feels vibrant with life and you can feel that life every moment as the joy of Being, then you are free of time."

With greater awareness, it becomes increasingly easier to stay in the now. It is quite similar to Buddhist mindfulness and the zen state of mind.

Originally Posted by amy green

Why would you assume that something is wrong with an idea in order to let it go? Perhaps the idea is inherently sound but not for you? Unfortunately I don't see that you have a good grasp of what he teaches. He is not a new age pioneer for nothing - that should tell you something.

You have said that Tolle tries to get rid of ego - this is misleading. He enables us to go beyond this state so that our egoic mind doesn't run our life. Our problems come from this egoic mind, e.g. in various forms of fear which takes place in time....hence why the focus is escaping it in the now. If I may quote here from The Power Of Now:-

"When every cell of your body is so present that it feels vibrant with life and you can feel that life every moment as the joy of Being, then you are free of time."

With greater awareness, it becomes increasingly easier to stay in the now. It is quite similar to Buddhist mindfulness and the zen state of mind.

Hello Amy,

Eckhart is correct. I recognize his great contribution. But the method that he is teaching is not really the way IMO. The Now should come naturally. We achieve this by letting go. Letting go mental illusions.

Eckhart does not let go, he adds. He adds the Now.

This is a mistake.

I guess this is what Rin was saying in an above post. I agree.