For those who have read Eckhart Tolle: Are you able to separate yourself from your ego and observe your thoughts?

I really wish I could. It would make my life that much less chaotic if I could be aware of myself, but like you..as soon as I become aware of myself I lose it again. Might be worth practicing though.

I’m sorry, after reading the Power of Now I do not think much of his “theories”, as they seem to me as if they were merely a “potpourri” of Chrisitan, Buddhist and Hindu philosophies.

Kinda like he cherry-picked his favorite parts of each.

Imho, your ego or self, is shaped by where you come from and where you are going.

Tolle holds that you find yourself by letting go of these factors, which smacks a lot of “instant Nirvana” to me.

i don’t see your argument there.. i always thought cherry picking meant you were bypassing the crap and getting to the good stuff. :)

it’s hard to not be yourself but i think i’ve been able to do it on a number of occasions. his ideas aren’t very clear to me though. i never feel like i “get” him exactly. i do like a lot of his ideas though. i want to have a chat with him.

“bypassing the crap” :) Nice one, lol

Dunno, to me it just seems that he has picked aspects of these philosophies that are exclusive of each other, trying to solve this by “obscuring”.

The Ego is that grasping part of your character that wants to have things its way. It’s the baser instincts that actually hold one back from experiencing things as they are, by coloring them through the filters of how you expect them to be.

Once you can give up your expectations, you will be able to embrace what is, rather than what isn’t.

I think with Tolle the problem is that at times he uses the terms “thoughts” and “ego” interchangeably, which causes confusion and is not very “logical”.

@ninjacolin I agree 100% with what you said. You should search iTunes for podcasts with Tolle. He is fascinating to listen to.

@TaoSan I don’t believe the philosophies are exclusive of each other. I think that’s the problem with many religions and religious folks; they think that each religion or philosophy is very different from the other. I’m by no means assuming you’re religious or one of those people, I’m just making a general statement. I believe that they’re all actually very similar, especially in the aspect of the major “truths” they teach. I guess that’s what I like about Tolle is yeah, he bypasses the crap and gets to the heart of it all.

Just read your most recent post: The ego is an entity that thinks thoughts. So, they are completely different.

I gotta get home before I can read up on it to find the right quote. Of course there are similarities and compatible ideologies in all three of these philosophies, it just always seemed to me that he very indiscriminately combined certain aspects one would consider “incompatible”.

Of course I’m able to do that. There’s nothing difficult about it. What’s all this fuss?

I do this on a daily basis. I can look at my thoughts and actions, exclusive of ego, at will. I screw myself by being quite proud of this.

I agree, it is difficult too capture the experience. I did for maybe a millisecond 25 years ago, my teacher said he had practiced for years, and he had only fleeting occurrences. This guy had the great fortune to be taught under Swami Rama.
I find his book very similar to Gurdjieff’s writings-I prefer Gurdjieff. Both are on target, but the majority of us humans, it is nearly impossible, without guidance to receive the necessary conscious shock to self-remember.

This is a huge thing.
Zen buddhists experience this through meditation

@susanc Really? It’s just that easy for you? So do you live in a state of enlightened bliss?

@essieness – lol, I would imagine that anyone who did live in a state of enlightened bliss would not answer that question in the affirmative. : )

@fireside Tolle does.

@essieness – i guess i should read the book.

I have read the Power of Now and whilst i think it is an interesting concept (and one that i think can help you identify non-constructive behaviours of the self)...I think it alludes to inevitably living a false sense of freedom and life…Isaiah Berlin spoke of this in his ‘Two concepts of Liberty’ the “retreat to the inner citadel”:

“It is as if I were to say: ‘I have a wound in my leg. There are two methods of freeing myself from pain. One is to heal the wound. But if the cure is too difficult or uncertain, there is another method. I can get rid of the wound by cutting off my leg. If i train myself to want nothing to which the possession of my leg is indispensable, I shall not feel the lack of it”

The ego, which is very real…still wants things… we live in this world and denying that we have very real and physical desires is delusive. Being able to observe this ego is useful but I think it’s a mistake to think that the ego should always be denied.

@lynneblundell

beautiful! Lurve

why thank you TaoSan x

It’s always a return to awareness. I have improved greatly in my thought watching and also, aside from Tolle’s work utilize the MPD ( mind power dynamics) science.

The course has actual lessons and workbooks to help reprogram your sub-conscious mind.

IMO, this is the ONLY life work that really counts, not falling prey to our runaway minds and their untruthfulness. lol