Eckhart Tolle: biography, family, books and quotes

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

E. Tolle is a famous German writer, an enlightened spiritual speaker. Today, his works have been published and translated into many languages. But Tolle was not always enlightened - the beginning of his life was not filled with joy and happiness.

Biography

Eckhart Tolle is not a philosopher of the past - he was born in 1948. His original name was Ulrich Tolle, but he decided to take the name Eckhart. The childhood of the future spiritual speaker was spent in Spain and Germany. Several times he said that his early years were filled with anxiety and misfortune. Until the age of thirteen, Eckhart studied at a German elementary school. At this time, conflicts constantly arose in his family. Then the young Tolle discovered that in the school environment it is customary to treat each other quite hostilely.

At the age of 13, Tolle moved to Spain, where he lived with his father. The parent offered him two options: the young man could either go to a new, Spanishschool, or study at home. Tolle chose to study at home, as his schooling experience was not pleasant. From the biography of Eckhart Tolle, you can learn that he had the opportunity to read various books on literature, philosophy, physics and other subjects.

At the age of 19, he moved to England, where he worked at a language school as an English teacher. At 22, Tolle moves to the University of London, and then becomes a scientist at Cambridge.

Beginning of depression

Closer to the age of 10, Eckhart Tolle began to suffer from bouts of prolonged depression. During one of these depressive phases, he had an unusual experience of spiritual enlightenment. It was then that he changed his name Ulrich to Eckhart. It is believed that this Tolle wanted to be like Meister Eckhart, the famous German mystic.

Spiritual Awakening

How did the spiritual enlightenment of the future philosopher and writer happen? One night, during one of the episodes of his depression, he realized that he could no longer live with himself. Eckhart Tolle had a question to which he could not find an answer: who is the "I" with which he can no longer exist? What is it in principle - "I myself"? His whole unhappy personality with mental images of suffering suddenly collapsed. The next morning he woke up calm and peaceful. There was a feeling of vital energy, the power of the presence of one's own personality, which silently observes the events taking place around.

Tolle understood that some important event had happened to him, but he could not understand what exactly it wasits essence. In this state, he spent several more years, until he learned from the spiritual teachers: in fact, what they all aspired to had happened to him - a spiritual awakening.

Of course, the most beautiful experiences have come and gone. However, there was always this fundamental sense of peace that never left Eckhart again. Sometimes it becomes very strong, almost tangible.

Family of the Enlightened One

Currently, Tolle's beloved wife, as well as his assistant, is Kim Eng. For many years she has been helping him develop the doctrine of the present. Photos of Eckhart Tolle and Kim can be seen below.

She not only helps her husband, Kim Eng also teaches yoga. Together with his wife Tolle lives in Vancouver (Canada). The family often travels the world giving lectures and seminars.

Tolle's Literary Works

The following books by Eckhart Tolle have gained great popularity and have been translated into many languages of the world:

• "The power of the present." Was released in 1999
• “New land. Awakening to your life purpose. First published in 2003.
• "Guardians of Being". Released in 2009
• "Oneness with all life." First published in 2008

The Power of Now Book

This is one of Tolle's most popular works. One of its main ideas is that a person needs to abandon the value judgment of reality and move on to understanding his own life. When a person acceptsthere is in him what his reality is filled with, a feeling of fundamental peace, a spiritual world, is born inside him. This is the true "I" of a person - a real source of love and happiness. The book is written in simple and understandable language. Recommended by many readers.

New Earth

This work highlights the fact that the concept of "Ego" as the basic essence of man is erroneous. The paper also describes the concept of the so-called pain body - the spiritual part of a person, which constantly reacts to reality through suffering. In the book you can find a description of the laws by which the "pain body" functions. The main message of the work is that a person needs to disidentify with the thought process that goes on in his head incessantly.

Tolle's main ideas

The most important insights that Tolle shares on the pages of his books are as follows:

1. Don't look for happiness. If you throw all your strength into becoming happy, you can just become unhappy. Joy is always elusive, but freedom from unhappiness is available to everyone.
2. The original cause of suffering is not the external situation, but what one thinks about it. It is necessary to be aware of thoughts in order not to be unhappy. It is much more useful to state the facts than to look at the situation from the position of the victim. For example, a destructive attitude might sound like this: "I'm bankrupt, I have no money." Such a thoughtlimits a person, does not allow him to act effectively. If you simply state the fact: “Exactly one dollar remains in my account,” this will not deprive you of strength, it will allow you to move on to improve the situation.
3. People should pay attention to the “voice” in their head that constantly complains about the circumstances. Tolle emphasizes that this voice is nothing more than a thought. Whenever a person notices it, it is necessary to be aware that this complaining voice is not the person himself. Own "I" only observes, realizes it from the side.
4. Stress and anxiety always appear because a person refuses to be "here and now". It seems to him that something else might be more important than being in the present moment. And this small mistake creates a whole world filled with suffering. For many, this Eckhart Tolle idea is the best, because it allows you to switch to the present moment, no matter what. Namely, this relieves stress.
5. People tend to believe that their personal happiness depends on what happens. They don't understand that these events are the most unstable thing in the entire universe. Everything around is constantly changing. The present moment is presented either as overshadowed by events, or as insufficient due to the absence of pleasant circumstances. You need to learn to accept the present moment.
6. When a person compares the mortal physical body with his own "I", this leads to suffering. The fate of the body is inevitably connected with such phenomena as suffering, old age. However, to refrain from this identificationdoes not mean to completely forget about the body and not take care of it.
7. You can't get better by trying hard to be better. You need to find your inner goodness and allow it to arise. However, this will only happen if significant changes occur in the mind of a person.

Aphorisms, phrases, valuable thoughts

The root cause of all human problems is the inability to be in the present moment. This is evidenced by the following statement by Eckhart Tolle:

Have you ever seen a stressed oak tree, or a dolphin in a gloomy mood, a frog with low self-esteem, a cat that cannot relax, or a bird burdened with resentment? Learn from them how to put up with the Real…

Other quotes also give an idea of the deepest wisdom of this thinker and philosopher:

Fear disappears when you start doing what you are afraid to do instead of thinking about it.

Accept first, act later. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you chose it. Always work with him, not against him. Make him your friend and ally, not your enemy.

Nothing will ever happen in the future. Everything that happens will happen in the Present.

In most cases, suffering and pain can be avoided. The cause of the pain is ourselves, because our life is controlled by the mind - the mind, which we do not observe. The pain we create is always a sign of rejection, unconscious resistance.to what it is.

Only your ability to consciously overcome difficulties, not how long you can sit with your eyes closed and observe beautiful images, will show how developed your consciousness is.

The problem of true love and relationships in Tolle's writings

In his seminars, the philosopher also pays considerable attention to the sphere of love relationships. Eckhart Tolle is unequivocal about what goes on in most love relationships. Over time, a beautiful and bright feeling turns into an addiction that brings suffering. Relationships are defined not as "love", but as "love-hate". Here is what the philosopher says about this:

Person to person relationships can be a living hell. Or a great spiritual practice.

At the same time, people often regard this as the norm. A love affair for several months or even years of its existence seems to swing between two opposite poles - love and hate. A person does not understand what is more in it - good or bad, joy or pain.

This kind of drama allows such people to feel more "alive" again, to feel the taste for life. If the balance between these two polarities is lost (which happens sooner or later), the final break in relations occurs very quickly. In his slightly blunt quote, Eckhart Tolle puts it this way:

Some marriages supposedly made in heaven are actually made in hell.

Hard to disagree with thesewords. Indeed, in marriage, people can suffer for years and not find the strength to end such relationships - and all because of the inability to be in the moment “here and now.”

At the same time, Eckhart Tolle shares true love and romantic relationships, which are more suitable for the definition of falling in love. In the latter case, the positive already contains the negative. These two polarities are opposites, yet both are simply different aspects of the same phenomenon.

As for true love, it is given to people from above, and therefore has no opposite. In his lectures, Eckhart Tolle emphasizes that it is much easier to bring out the negative side of falling in love than the positive side. In the same way, it is much easier for a person to see the bad in his beloved than in himself.

As a way out, the mystic suggests paying attention to the "here and now" moment. This allows you to gain access to the power of the Divine Presence, which relieves pain and illusions.

Eckhart Tolle: Reader Reviews

What do those who read his books say about the spiritual mentor and his ideas? Reader feedback can be divided into the following categories:

• The first ones are very fond of Tolle's work. Such readers emphasize that his books are not intended for religious fans or those people who, on the contrary, are accustomed to excessive rationalization of events. Tolle's works help those who have complete confusion in their souls. People who are accustomed to constantly analyze what is happening, worryabout many things at the same time, Tolle's books helped to make life much easier. The majority of readers who leave positive reviews.
• For representatives of the next category, the work of a spiritual mentor became interesting. However, the revolution in their minds did not happen. Yet even they recommend Tolle's work to anyone interested in self-discovery.
• Representatives of the third category of readers found the works of the philosopher frankly boring. They could not get anything useful from the books.

Tolle's ideas will be of interest to those who would like to make their lives better, gain spiritual freedom. His works help to learn to focus not on frightening events, but on what is really worthy of attention - on the real person.