My spiritual blog & articles - My Spiritual Coach

What were Eckhart Tolle's fears and anxieties of his life situation before Enlightenment?

6/9/2021

Eckart Tolle’s fears and anxieties, that he reports on in his books, were very much like all of our fears and anxieties: We’re not enough. We need to do something to make ourselves enough but we never do enough, we’re not good-looking enough, we’re not smart enough, we will be on the street with nothing, we’re not loved or appreciated enough, we’re not (fill in the blank).

Those are just a few fears that plagued him, along with an unhappy childhood with quarreling parents, not fitting in at school, and just the low-level non-stop terror that the mind inflicts on everyone who doesn’t know how it operates.

When he discovered how the ego-mind and its negative bias runs our lives instead of us running it, he was able to get out from under its tyranny and start to control and master it. Now he could use it as a tool, instead of letting it using him as its tool. This brought him freedom from the never-ending emphasis on lack that is the focus of the ego-mind, which always wants more, more, more and is never satisfied with what is.

Why are a lot of enlightenment answers unintelligible and why do people upvote them anyway?

5/23/2021

Answers about consciousness and enlightenment seem meaningless to people who think that they are only their ego-minds, with their never-ending demands for everything to make sense. They also think they are their bodies, with their endless round of physical needs and cravings.

They want to tie all the mysteries of life up in a neat package that can be proved under laboratory conditions, and therefore that would be the Truth for them. This would give them a sense of security, though any thinking person can see that life merely in the physical is an endless cycle of eating, sleeping, procreating, and working so we can get up then next day and do the same thing again until we die.

Then we will be replaced by other organisms, all with their same wants and desires—mainly to survive with a few little meaningless perks thrown in, such as entertainment and fleeting pleasures.

Yet some people are beyond this. They know within their hearts that this survival-at- all-costs approach to life shows meaninglessness on the level of the insects. Reproducing in swarms and filling their bellies so they can excrete later. Only if we are on a path of enlightenment, to bypass the endless whirl of the physical and its dis-satisfactions, will any underlying happiness, gratitude, or sense of purpose be possible.

The other problem with the language of enlightenment is that we don’t really have a precise vocabulary to define the different states of consciousness attained by an enlightened being. These states are beyond mere feelings and emotions. Eventually their descriptions end up sounds like cliches. “I was lost in the bliss of One-ness with all life and all death. We are all one.”

People don’t feel this in everyday life and it becomes tiresome to hear this kind of imprecise language over and over again. It becomes lost in a blur. The states of consciousness that go beyond the mere everyday survival thoughts, rehashing of old events and jumping with anxiety into the future, don’t sound possible the way they are described.

Yet, when we are on the Spiritual Path we can detect the soul behind what is written and therefore respond to the being who put themselves out there enough to at least try to describe enlightenment.

Why are we motivated by materialism?

3/25/2021

Buying and amassing a whole bunch of material goods for ourselves gives us a temporary high. It feels good for a short while and then we need to feed the beast once again. The high has disappeared and we must up the dose of our next toy, piece of jewelry, car, house, or anything that we value outside of our inner selves.

We keep looking outside ourselves for one more item that might be the that panacea for all our discontents and anxieties. Then we get it and find it didn’t do the trick, so we are motivated to try the next path in the maze. Each time we think we will find the reward with the next acquisition.

Jackie Gleason, the famous comedian and billiards player told the story about how poor he was growing up. All he ever wanted was a billiards table of his own. He knew that would be the key to happiness for him. That would solve his restless angst. He was putting off his happiness until that moment and knew one day it would happen.

Through the years he became wealthy and famous. He finally bought himself a top-of-the-line pool table. But after only a few days, it was just one more thing in his house gathering dust. Yes, he used it, but now he was used to it. His mind had moved on to the next thing it felt it needed to hold onto for its joy and peace of mind.

That was one of the most important realizations of his life. We are motivated to keep getting more and more materials things because the satisfaction is not lasting. So we keep going down that false path because we think that one day if we get enough of the right thing, all will be solved.

How does being attached to the material world impact us?

12/22/2020

Being attached to the material world turns us into grasping, frightened beings. It is obvious to any thinking person, that all material items have an invisible time stamp on them. They are all going to go away one day. They will rot, rust, decay, die, get stolen, eroded, or perish in other ways. Anyone who observes the material world can attest to this.

Yet we fool ourselves, and delude ourselves, in a kind of mass hypnosis into valuing and seeking these things and more things to cope with our fear and boredom. We want to display these things to bolster our egos in front of others and make ourselves feel that we have “made it.” We want others to envy us, admire us, and want what we have. We entertain ourselves with shopping and adding even more to our storehouse of things that are never going to last. And so we waste the beautiful life we are here to experience. We are chasing after and placing value on something that can be easily taken away from us.

When enough people want to grasp all the material goods for themselves, our planet will not recover from this level of greed. Tearing down rain forests, overfishing and polluting our waters, paving over nature and creating fake scenarios to pamper our fantasies, does not bring inner peace, joy, or beauty. We must go within and discover our Eternal Soul, which never goes away and cannot die. All else, although entertaining and challenging, is a waste of time and creates more problems than solutions.

Is it possible to get everything that you desire (not just physical/worldly but on a mental scale as well)?

7/11/2020

No, it is not possible to get everything we desire. And this is a good thing. Many of our desires are selfish and unconscious of the rest of the people on this planet. Criminals desire to kill and destroy. Sexual predators desire to dominate a frightened victim. Therefore, what we desire is not even desirable for many people who are led astray by their ego-minds.

The Universe is not designed to pamper our every whim just because that is what we want. We need to calm down with our demands as well as with our expectations of how we can bend the Universe to our will. People living in abundance are miserable because they still haven’t fulfilled all of their desires. Like spoiled children, they bang on their highchairs and cry because the world isn’t living up to their fairy tale dreams.

They would love to believe that if they said enough affirmations and think positively enough, they will get all the goodies they crave and climb Mount Everest too without training. But that is not how it is designed. Yes, we may think positively and emit positive vibrations to attract good into our lives. But we are not in control of how or when that good comes to us. And we must put in the work. It is not enough to desire and think it will all happen. If that were true, everyone would win the lottery.

How can one separate feelings from ego and from the soul? How can one differentiate the two from each other?

7/4/2020

Feelings from ego are based in fear—even the happy feelings have a fearful component to them because we worry about how and when they are going to end. Ego-feelings are also based on external circumstances and are not generated from within.

Something happens and it makes us happy. The next minute something happens and it makes us sad. These feelings are all based on what our ego wants and how the world is bending to our demands at the moment. We want the perfect life for ourselves according to some definition we have in our heads and we will not allow ourselves to be happy until we have attained it.

Feelings from Soul are based in an underlying joy, regardless of the cards that are dealt to us by the Universe. The Soul is already complete and is not seeking completion in something else. It sees that the Universe is well-put-together and we don’t need to strive to bend it to our wills. Therefore, the Soul abides in peace while the ego-world goes on in its turmoil and strife.

The ego-based emotions are perfect for survival tactics, reproducing our species, and creating social structures. The Soul-based emotions of love, peace, and joy are perfect for understanding the meaning and purpose of our lives.

Can studying philosophy lead to a happier and more peaceful existence?

6/11/2020

Many philosophical systems, such as Stoicism, may lead to a happier and more peaceful life. But just studying them misses the point. We must find what is true for us in our lives. Marcus Aurelius makes many observations and statements that could turn the light on inside the reader or listener and lead to the way out of anxiety and stress:

“You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”

“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...”

Marcus Aurelius is just one of may brilliant philosophers who contemplated how to avoid the upsets and troubles of life and be emotionally free. Yet, as we know, Marcus Aurelius and others came many centuries before us, and the world, as a whole, has not paid much attention.

The world is still engaged in behaviors that do not lead to peace or happiness. However, everyone can benefit from the great thinkers in their daily lives for they have shown us the way. Their words have helped many individuals and that is why they have survived to this day.

Why should we do what scares us? What reasons can you think of to justify pushing past our fears?

3/4/2020

Everyone feels fear. It is built into our physical systems. One of the first responses of a newborn baby is “the startle response.” It serves as a protective mechanism and triggers fight or flight. At one point in our evolution it was useful but now, like the appendix or tonsils, we do not need it to the extent we did. It has become a plague of overthinking that brings depression and loss of morale.

I am not talking about fear holding us back from doing dangerous and crazy things that scare us, such as jumping out of a skyscraper window on a dare. I am referring to the little voice in the head that stops us from fulfilling our potential because we are too scared to fail, get hurt, or look like a fool trying. The fear takes over ands somewhere we feel less of a person because we backed down.

Your mission in life may require you to speak in front of large groups and anxiety stops you. You would rather give up. It is then that you can realize that everyone feels fear about public speaking but they go ahead and do it anyway, in spite of their stage-fright. They find out they didn’t die from the experience and end up trusting themselves more. Next time is is easier. But if you quit just because you feel jittery, you will never fully realize your goals.

If you are a world class downhill skier, I am sure natural fear kicks in as you face the steep descent. But you know that this fear is an automatic response and you can get past it. Then, once you allow yourself to “feel the fear and do it anyway” (as Susan Jeffers said) a triumphant feeling replaces the fear. You can even use the fear as fuel for extra adrenaline to sharpen your skills.

Everything great that has ever been accomplished by people (and animals) was because they “felt the fear and did it anyway.” Otherwise, life is about cowering away in our shells, protecting ourselves from all kinds of imagined and real threats and never fully living free lives.

Does rationality equal happiness?

2/21/2020

Rationality does not equal happiness. It can lead to the opposite of happiness.
If we analyze life on earth with a completely rational mind, we see that it is a painful joke in so many ways. A child is born, only to have some mixed experiences, reproduce as all animals are destined to do, and then die, usually painfully. That is the way life looks to the reasoning mind.

What’s the point? Why go through all this suffering if we are just pawns of our genes’ propulsion to reproduce themselves? The rational mind cannot find comfort in Higher Reasons for why we are on this planet. So it looks for happiness to distract itself from the terror of its meaninglessness. It thinks it will find it in treasures and pleasures. But deep down, it also sees the old, forgotten man slowly limping down the street with is walker, and knows that this is his fate, too, one day.

Rationality is an admirable faculty of the mind when it is put to good use. But it can also be perverted and twisted, as we can see by all the evil dictators who have slaughtered millions for their “rational” reasons. But it does not equate to happiness on any level. The only thing that leads to happiness is happiness itself. We cannot get there by reasoning it all out.

If we allow ourselves to feel the natural happiness that rises within us, we will attract more happiness to us. Being miserable, even if it is rationally justified, is never the path to happiness. Happiness is a byproduct of doing something we love. It cannot be forced or reasoned into being but it comes naturally if we let it in.

When someone reaches Abraham Maslow's level of self-actualization, is it lonely because so few reach that level?

1/12/2020

Self-actualization is the ability to reach that higher place of consciousness, from which all our activities and creations originate. At this stage we are far beyond satisfying our basic needs for food, shelter, and social contact. We now are at a place where our full human potential can be realized.

We are now free to be creative and innovative, profound and wise. We no longer have to slave for our daily food and we can go beyond the day-to-day survival game. And yes, it can be lonely there. Even though modern life offers so many comfortable advantages, not many people are ready to make the effort to go beyond the search for daily satisfactions. Or they don’t know how.

The media are screaming for more attention to our outer appearances and very little attention is brought to finding contact with our souls. Not a lot of economic value is placed on understanding who you are as an eternal being, endlessly connected with the underlying order of the cosmos. When was the last time you saw a spiritual master’s enhanced and filtered selfie go viral?

Perhaps the rarity of self-realization makes it that much more precious. Yet everyone has the potential for it. For self-realization is never measured against what others achieve, but always relates to how much more we have grown within ourselves.