Eckhart Tolle[1]
Ordinarily, I give you a short account of my personal experience based on Eckhart Tolle’s quotes from ‘The Power of Now Journal.’[2] Today, I decided to share my thoughts on the above title – ‘Rising Above Thought.’
Although it appeared under the title, ‘Enlightenment – Rising Above Thought,’ my September 23, 2023 essay is more of an expose on enlightenment than rising above thought. Important to know, though, is the fact that it will teach you and me to cultivate the habit of rising above our thoughts.
Rising above the stream of incessant thoughts stemming from my mind has been no mean feat because I am a serious contender in the battle to live in the now moment and not allow my ego to control my thoughts. I have become ‘aware’ to a large extent.
ET says that awareness is a gap above and between thoughts. Freedom from our ego. A brief moment when you are not thinking. Rising above thought, You can think. But you don’t have to think. Your experience, if only briefly, is a beautiful space of pure awareness. Asked to explain this state, ET pauses and remains silent; he raises his forefinger and says nothing for about 10 seconds. At that time, you are waiting for him to explain his action you are not thinking.
This simple example made me realize that I had stopped thinking when I was staring at his finger and waiting for him to explain his actions.
Thinking about ET’s example and looking back on my past, I have often had brief moments when I have stopped thinking. (You must undoubtedly have had the same experience.) Like me, you may not have been aware of what was happening, but you had stopped thinking!
Let me give you an example: You come out of the door of your home into your garden, and the moment you do this, you have a change of experience. You smell the fresh air, and maybe even the flowers, and feel the sun’s warmth. At that moment, you stop thinking. In a split second, you start thinking, ‘The lawn needs cutting; I must do it tomorrow – get the idea?
At the point where you were not thinking what was happening to you? In a brief moment, as you stepped out the door, you savored the experience. Your endorphin rush made you feel elated. What about something involving physical action? Take a game of foursome tennis. In the excitement of rushing around your side of the net and working with your partner, there are brief moments when you are in intense excitement. What is happening to you is you are momentarily freed from your eager thinking. You are in a state of presence but unaware of this because you are experiencing a physical sensation. Am I making sense here?
Your endorphin rush lifts you high. ET says, ‘…this is an intense presence, a state of transcendence…’ In other words, the state of your high shifts your mood inside your home to a different, fresh mood when you look at your garden or start playing tennis. All these result in you not thinking, being temporarily aware of different feelings, and being freed from overthinking, neediness, anxiety, fear, regret, and intimidation. Freeing you to enjoy your presence. ET says this about your encounter:
“…because the neediness has gone. You still do things, create things, and you’re active. You’re still acquire new things. You learn new things, new skills, more knowledge. You have experiences, you have relationships, you travel. You come across a new place. You continue to explore the sensory realm. But it becomes a more satisfying place. Because you are not looking to it for ultimate satisfaction, you create a wonderful liberation and realize ultimate satisfaction is inseparable from the present moment.”
Understanding ET’s philosophy and applying it to your life are different issues.
But there is hope for you and me. I have a motto: ‘Parvi Gradus Determinate’ – take small, determined steps. Being conscious of ET’s philosophy is the first step, and slowly but determinedly applying it in our lives will produce changes in our attitudes and resultant behavior.
Until next time
Love and blessings
Peter-James.
‘I love writing, it’s my lifestyle.’
[1] rising above thinking eckhart tolle – Search (bing.com)
[2] amazon.com/Power-Now-Journal-Eckhart-Tolle/dp/160868637XRising Above Thought
Please Note:
Earlier parts of this series can be found here.
You will have noticed in this series that I reference “The Power of Now Journal – Eckhart Tolle.” The Power of Now Journal is just that: a journal whose pages are not numbered. The commentary you read on this page is a record of my personal experience arising from Eckhart’s comments on the relevant pages of the journal. With its dynamic wisdom, this beautifully printed book is available from Amazon. I feel confident that if you have read my piece, you will enjoy this delightful journal, even if you don’t usually keep or never have kept a journal.
–
[1] The Power of Now Journal – Eckhart Tolle
CopyritePeter-JamesPienaar2023
****************************
Love Your Life Adopt Your Purpose 
Take the leap to comment, I personally respond to each.