Eckhart Tolle’s Findhorn Retreat Seminar Part 1 of 6: Have and Have Not
December 3, 2009 by dr. lam · 3 Comments
As many of you know, Tolle’s book, The Power of Now, has shaken me to the core and provided a new paradigm for my life. I recommend it to many of my patients who are seeking happiness but find that goal elusive. His short audiobook on a seminar he conducted in Scotland, entitled Findhorn Retreat, is also wondrously enlightening to those with an open heart and a receptive ear.
Tolle talks about how in life we are miserable because we are in need of having something only to find that when we attain it our happiness is equally as fleeting. It reminds me of Oscar Wilde’s famous quote: ”In this world there are two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” How true. Tolle reveals how badly he wanted to excel in academics only to find when he attained those touted marks he was only happy for a cursory 2 weeks.
The reason that we are always sad is that we are putting a condition on our happiness external to ourselves (which we have talked about before) leading only to certain misery. ”I will only be happy if…” ”I know when I find the right person in my life then I shall be happy.” ”If my career were more fulfilling then I would be happy.” Really?
We are not a product of our circumstances but a product of our attitude in life. We choose happiness by allowing ourselves to be there. When we are not there, it is owing to our choice not to be there. We will explore this theme further in the following blogs in this series. Be happy now.