The Joy of Now

Eckhart Tolle

About Mr. Tolle:

Eckhart Tolle was born in Germany, where he spent the first thirteen years of his life. After graduating from the University of London, he was a research scholar and supervisor at Cambridge University. When he was twenty-nine, a profound spiritual transformation virtually dissolved his old identity and radically changed the course of his life. The next few years were devoted to understanding, integrating and deepening that transformation, which marked the beginning of an intense inward journey. Eckhart Tolle is not aligned with any particular religion or tradition. In his teaching, he conveys a simple yet profound message with the timeless and uncomplicated clarity of the ancient spiritual masters: there is a way out of suffering and into peace.

The following is from "The Power of Now"

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On the surface it seems that the present moment is only one of many, many moments. Each day of your life appears to consists of thousands of moments where different things happen. Yet if you look more deeply, is there not only one moment, ever? Is life ever not “this moment?”
This one moment — Now — the only thing you can never escape from, the one constant factor in your life. No matter what happens, no matter how much your life changes, one thing is certain: it's always Now.

Since there is no escape from the Now, why not welcome it, become friendly with it?
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Being Separated from Awareness

Consciousness, or Being, or God, if you will, is in all living things. When we try to "find God" by using our minds as a tool , it is useless and frustrating. We end up in a state of suffering; for some it can be merely a mild discomfort, and for others it can be extreme, depending on how deeply the person is trying to "think" his way to be closer to Being.

I'll put it simply: the key is not resisting.

When we turn loose of the resisting by simply going into the quiet stillness, a centered place residing inside all of us, we can let all thoughts cease, all emotions, and just Be. We enter the precious Stillness. There we experience Being, or God. The ego part of who we are ceases to exist and the oneness of the real "you", the Consciousness, resides and is always there.

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"Stand Still" poem

"Stand Still"

by David Wagoner

Stand still.

The trees ahead and bushes beside you are not lost.

Wherever you are is called Here, and you must treat it as a powerful stranger,

Must ask permission to know it and be known.

The forest breathes. Listen.

It answers, I have made this place around you. If you leave it, you may come back again, saying

Here.

No two trees are the same to Raven.

No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,

You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows

Where you are.

You must let it find you.

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Pointing the Way

As I travel my spiritual path, the teacher who is guiding me the most by pointing the way to inner peace is Eckhart Tolle.

http://www.eckharttolle.com/

The instant I began reading his book "A New Earth", I felt him leading and pointing the way to the truth in a clear voice like none I had ever heard. "The Power of Now" and "Stillness Speaks" are equally powerful and inspirational.

Not everyone who reads his books will be ready to receive his message. For those who are already beginning to awaken even just a little, you will find his teachings from his books/audios, videos to be a treasure.

Thousand Red Birds---a poem about faith

Thousand Red Birds

We clutch our tiny bits of faith in tight fists shoved firmly in our pockets.

We clutch it suspiciously, so unwilling to let it go we don’t want to lose it.

We clutch it fearing that once it is spent,we will be without hope, cast adrift, out of luck.

Help us loosen our grip.

Help us to pull our hands out of our pockets.

Help us to uncurl our fingers stiffened over time.

to grow,to shimmer,to pulse,to explode into the air

like a

thousand red birds.

– Phil Porter

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