Eckhart Tolle’s Findhorn Retreat Seminar Part 6 of 6: A Fool and Enlightenment
December 11, 2009 by dr. lam · 2 Comments
Tolle closed his retreat by fielding questions from the audience. The last question that was asked was the most cogent in my opinion: “Can a fool achieve enlightenment?” Tolle rephrased the question to say that “Can someone with limited mental faculties become enlightened?” He then used the example of Forrest Gump, the fictional character who seemed always to be bumbling into something wondrous without ever knowing it. Tolle likens this foolish consciousness almost to be equivalent to the enlightened consciousness that is void of ego and self-retribution but that is rather imbued with love, kindness, and compassion. In many respects, we become like the fool when we become enlightened at least to this world.
Tolle does not mean that we should act foolishly or become a fool. He only says that in many respects what the world considers foolish, lack of ego and openness, can actually be our own salvation from our woes. When we achieve this kind of mystical consciousness, we leave our own “pain body” as Tolle calls it and enter a deeper sense of connectedness with the world. He says that amazingly in the movie Forrest Gump, Forrest always seemed to be at the right time and at the right place. Doors seemed to open for him without effort. This could be interpreted as blind luck or in fact as being connected to a divine source so that things just happen for you because you are open to them happening. When we don’t know we can’t, then we can. There was a blog that I published several months ago, exhorting all to “Be Child-Like”, a declaration that is often proffered during one of my yoga sessions. Christ also said for us to be child-like so that we can enter the kingdom of heaven. When we become open and receptive like a child, nothing is impossible.
Eckhart Tolle’s Findhorn Retreat Seminar Part 5 of 6: Raising Consciousness
December 10, 2009 by dr. lam · 2 Comments
Findhorn, Scotland
As all of you know, these blogs are all about increasing our level of consciousness and self awareness. A quote that I have heard before but do not believe (can’t recall) having written about in the past is Carl Jung’s famous line: ”A problem cannot be solved by the same consciousness that created it.” This is definitely one of my favorite quotes of all time. It helps us understand two things. One is that many problems that exist are a product of our own mind creation. It would not be there if we simply had a different, more enlightened perspective. Secondly, if we work to raise our own level of consciousness we can accomplish both the ending of current problems and limit the emergence of new problems.
Take a family squabble for instance. Say a brother and sister are bickering all the time about property and money in a family inheritance (fortunately this is not a real situation between my sister and me and do not believe it should ever be one. it comes from a post that i just read online). The brother believes he is right because he has earned a certain degree of entitlement from his working a family property. The sister believes she deserves more because she took care of both elderly parents before their passing. Both begin to be more negative and vehemently entrenched in their positions.
Obviously, in this situation, greed and power are the level of working consciousness for these two individuals. When approaching this situation from that vantage nothing will be solved but only magnified. When we let go of worldly attachments and selfish entitlement, we can have a chance at resolving the situation. Otherwise the problem will continue to amplify and become a worsening situation. In the online posting I read, a second brother died from a stroke at 50 due to the family battle. Our actions oftentimes have considerable collateral damage beyond what we would recognize or choose to recognize.
Tolle’s use of Jung’s quote is a brilliant start point for all of us who are seeking peace, happiness, and love in this life. If we continue to fill our own cups, we have the opportunity to let that cup spill over to help others. When our cups are entirely empty, we have nothing to give others. When our state of consciousness is very low, we have no chance at overcoming our current plight. Instead we just compound it. I hope these blogs help you elevate yourself through a mire of pettiness so that we can be worthy lights on this planet.
Eckhart Tolle’s Findhorn Retreat Seminar Part 4 of 6: Saying Yes
December 9, 2009 by dr. lam · 3 Comments
Findhorn, Scotland
This is a refinement of the idea that we covered in part 2: ”But… ” We confine ourselves oftentimes to negative thinking and therefore we cannot embrace the moment of now. We live our lives in a frustrated state of negation.
An example is his colleague and friend went to visit a woman with an advanced stage of cancer in the hospital. His friend says to the patient, “I do not see a problem.” Upon hearing that, the patient throws away her covering bedsheets to reveal one leg 2 to 3 times the size of the other and responds, “Is this not a problem?” The man responds, “Oh, you see that leg being bigger as a problem?” The patient responds with laughter and realizes how we tend to judge our situation by labeling it as good or bad. We append our own ideas onto a situation.
Saying yes means embracing the positive in what we have in front of us no matter how bad it might appear to our judgmental, labeling brains. We need to say yes in life to life and to everything in life. Shifting our feeling about our situation to one of open, embracive happiness is the first start in our journey toward fulfillment and happiness.
Eckhart Tolle’s Findhorn Retreat Seminar Part 3 of 6: Better than…
December 8, 2009 by dr. lam · 6 Comments
Findhorn, Scotland
We oftentimes live our life in comparison to our neighbor. My house is bigger. My car is faster. My wife is more attractive. My kids are in better schools. All of this is illusory and deprives us of our happiness because we are always looking externally for approbation of our work and our life. If not, then we actually confront the exact same problem even for those who are “spiritual” or even ascetic in life: ”Look at me ride this bicycle. I am so much more environmentally friendly than you who are driving that gas-guzzling BMW.” ”I am superior to you because of my faith even though I don’t want to say that but come on I live a good life.” ”I do blessed charity work. What do you do?” Either way, whatever we do, we need to find some peace so that we are not always doing, comparing, and forcing our own world view to be better than someone else’s.
We have talked about this superiority complex in the remote past. However, like most things in life, we can learn and benefit from the act of rephrasing and repetition. Exploring these concepts for me never gets old because they are so vital to my life, and I want them to be part of it so forgive me for any perceived repetition in these blogs.
Another topic that we have covered before in the past is judgment. We judge others around us because they are found wanting in so many categories: spiritual absence, too fat, bad taste, uneducated. Whatever categories we force on to others, we do so because we need to feel apart and better. Today and hereafter, let go of judgment, superiority, and other false identification with one’s self. I hate to say this but I am not better than you, and you are not better than I.
Eckhart Tolle’s Findhorn Retreat Seminar Part 2 of 6: But…
December 4, 2009 by dr. lam · 9 Comments
Findhorn, Scotland
Tolle’s tranquil Findhorn Retreat locale as pictured in yesterday’s blog is an ideal place for a spiritual retreat. However, he reports that it is located near a Royal Air Force base that may have screaming jets fly overhead. It also is plagued with Scottish fog and mist. He cautions his audience not to declare, “Man, this place would be great only if there were not a base next door.” ”I wish there were more sunlight.” ”I could have enjoyed myself this weekend if…”
How often do we enter a situation and it is just not perfect enough for us because… We are compelled again to condition our happiness with a big BUT! I love this vacation spot but I would enjoy it so much more if it were not so hot, expensive, sunny, rainy, etc. We force certain conditions of our situation that must be met for us to be happy. Too bad we will never find that happiness because there is no perfect situation, place or time.
What is perfect as Tolle preaches is the here and now. If we live fully in the moment and enjoy where we are and are fully engaged with the now, then we allow these silly “flaws” to vanish and all we see is a radiant present. Today, enjoy everything about where you are and stop focusing on all the BUTS.