Living in the Now

[Miss Hepburn]

Gangaji inspires me so much with a DVD I have -'Still in Awareness'.

It seems That is all there Is --- this Awareness, some may call the Observer
or That which experiences.

She explains how we may go up and down - but
"Does the Awareness that is aware of these changes and emotions, change?"

That's where she helps people open to a different way of being ''aware''.
Be aware of That which is aware.


Ha!

[silent energy]

I just wanted to say that I admire the contribution Oprah Winfrey has made to spirituality. Even though she isn't a guru by any stretch of the imagination, her passion to go along with her popularity has helped the process of bringing spirituality into the mainstream.

"Being spiritual has nothing to do with what you believe and everything to do with your state of consciousness" - Eckhart Tolle

Originally Posted by MindOverMatter

I just wanted to say that I admire the contribution Oprah Winfrey has made to spirituality. Even though she isn't a guru by any stretch of the imagination, her passion to go along with her popularity has helped the process of bringing spirituality into the mainstream.

"Being spiritual has nothing to do with what you believe and everything to do with your state of consciousness" - Eckhart Tolle

I think Oprah's popularity may have something to do with her overcoming her own abusive past situation, i.e. she inspired others....I think also being a black woman that managed to transform herself probably adds to the impact she made on the general public too.

Thanks for that Tolle quote - I am so in harmony with what he says.

[silent energy]

Originally Posted by amy green

Thanks for that Tolle quote - I am so in harmony with what he says.

No problem, his words resonates well with me too, along with many others here I'm sure.

But just to clarify I didn't mean that Oprah's popularity came from discussing spirituality but that she uses her popularity and celebrity to increase awareness in spirituality which I find noble. Ever since she met Tolle she has become more and more interested in spirituality and has implemented that into her show and network which I'm sure has a positive impact on the planet

[Xan]

Just Relax.

Stop trying to change anything,
and recognize what is already here.

There may be changes,
or there may be no changes,
but that is secondary to what is
always here.


- Gangaji

Originally Posted by MindOverMatter

But just to clarify I didn't mean that Oprah's popularity came from discussing spirituality but that she uses her popularity and celebrity to increase awareness in spirituality which I find noble. Ever since she met Tolle she has become more and more interested in spirituality and has implemented that into her show and network which I'm sure has a positive impact on the planet

Yes I agree - it's wonderful that Oprah is in such an influential position to enable spirituality to be brought to the masses through her programmes. It surely will have an on-going accumulative effect and help bring about awareness and responsibility. No doubt it also served to consolidate Tolle as a new age pioneer. All good stuff!!

[Xan]

Say "yes" to life - and see how life suddenly starts working for you rather than against you.

- Eckhart Tolle

[Mr Interesting]

I'm on my second reading of 'the power of now' after having finished the first time about 6months and after huge amounts of meditation almost falling into grace... but I stood back and entered life again. Now on my second reading, and about 40 pages in I'm starting to feel that the nature of Eckhart's 'awakening' has specifically determined the nature of his teachings. It's all very good and definitely from the right place but I do tend to think that alot is missed out which can only be found in other places.

What this means is that the nature of his awakening, the suddeness and from a sense of despair has coloured the depths to which he can bring to his teachings and I find this very interesting. Just this morning I picked up another book and quickly found a discription of stillnes which broadened Eckhart's conceptions and it just so happened that this writer had come to his awakening through practise of meditation over a period of years and this seems, so far, to be more in line with my own practice and so offers the subtleties that I need to continue. So while I don't doubt Eckhart's being I am questioning the width of his channel... as it were. This doesn't make him un-useful, at all, but gives me some insight into the nature of his usefullness.

Originally Posted by Mr Interesting

I'm on my second reading of 'the power of now' after having finished the first time about 6months and after huge amounts of meditation almost falling into grace... but I stood back and entered life again. Now on my second reading, and about 40 pages in I'm starting to feel that the nature of Eckhart's 'awakening' has specifically determined the nature of his teachings. It's all very good and definitely from the right place but I do tend to think that alot is missed out which can only be found in other places.

What this means is that the nature of his awakening, the suddeness and from a sense of despair has coloured the depths to which he can bring to his teachings and I find this very interesting. Just this morning I picked up another book and quickly found a discription of stillnes which broadened Eckhart's conceptions and it just so happened that this writer had come to his awakening through practise of meditation over a period of years and this seems, so far, to be more in line with my own practice and so offers the subtleties that I need to continue. So while I don't doubt Eckhart's being I am questioning the width of his channel... as it were. This doesn't make him un-useful, at all, but gives me some insight into the nature of his usefullness.

Hi Mr. Interesting - whilst I am pleased for you that you have found a writer who more closely corresponds to your own practice, I would very much like to know what subtleties and stillness descriptions you found that Eckhart lacked.

As I see it, he just provides very accurate maps and then the journey/experience is up to ourselves. Also I find what he has to say about ego enormously useful - did you?

You could either post a reply here or, if you think it might colour Eckhart negatively (and not wish to do this) I would welcome a PM from you.

[Mr Interesting]

Hey Amy, heres fine. I don't think whatever I say could be of a negative nature towards Eckhart as such things don't really matter. I think what I'm wondering about is the nature of our lives before enlightenment become the palette that we use to describe the way to get to our awakening... after all, what else might we use other than the language and life we led up to that point. But I'm still pondering and part of that pondering is that, of the people I know that have read Eckhart, none have reached the state he so eloquently describes. Theres nothing wrong in that so much as it raises questions within me as to what such writings might be there to acheive.

So the question I'm asking may not be so much about Eckhart but could be widened to be a question of the roles we might get in awakening in the wider sense. So Eckharts job could be to popularise the concepts of awakening across a wider audience than has ever been made aware of this new possibility in human potential but once all the people are into the stream, as it were, other less popularised, but more poignant, resources are to be found.

It may also be that the drama of his own awakening more suits the world as opposed to the offerings of monks who have spent twenty years meditating. A dramatic world requires a dramatic story maybe just like Ram Dass's journey from drugs suited the world into which 'Be here now' fell.

It may be that eing on the brink, and taking things slowly, has a less dramatic response in the wider sense but more poignant use within smaller fields of reference... as our own guides within this context find the time to write for us!