Eckhart Tolle’s Findhorn Retreat Seminar Part 5 of 6: Raising Consciousness
December 10, 2009 by dr. lam
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.
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2 Responses to “Eckhart Tolle’s Findhorn Retreat Seminar Part 5 of 6: Raising Consciousness”
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Dr. Lam, I LOVE that quote! I have to admit, I had to contemplate it a bit before the meaning sunk in, but very profound. This blog has a very profound wisdom. I think it applies to many aspects. Nice example.
It applies to one’s thinking and logic in all aspects of life. I think that sometimes we are faced with difficulties, such as lack of enthusiasm for something that we really want to be enthusiastic about, procrastination, perfectionism, OCD, etc, and we tend to buck against a psychological wall, leading nowhere, but if we step back and reconstruct our consciousness and our viewpoint on the situation and gain an enlightening perspective of whatever situation it is by doing so, we will be able to overcome whatever problems we originally were facing and also eliminate them for the future. That’s what I got out of it…lol Nice one to bring up in my discussion group. I have a group of friends that love to talk about psychology and self-improvement, and gossip too..lol (man, it’s breaking the four agreements!); I know they’ll love this quote. =)
Dr. Lam, you crack me up; I don’t think anyone would dream up the idea that you were fighting with your sister about inheritance from your example…lol Makes a juicy story though!
Awesome ending message, Doc!!! Great blog!!!
nice interpretation heather. have fun with your discussion group!!!