The Mind Never Sleeps
There seems to be some confusion as to how my teachings on “being” compare to Tolle’s.
DK, Tolle and myself all talk of the advantages of “Being.” That has never been in dispute. The difference between Tolle and myself is not that he believes in Being and I do not — far from it. The difference is he subscribes to the basic tenet of the “Nothingness Philosophy” and I do not.
Here is the basic difference:
Tolle believes the created world is basically a source of pain that seems to serve no purpose except we need to escape from it. When we do this world and all its effects will be as if it never was. In the end we will be as we were in the beginning so we came here for nothing and all creation exists for no purpose except to escape from.
Both DK and myself see it differently. First, the goal is not to escape until we have fulfilled the goals of experience here. It is frustrating for the average person to focus on leaving this world before he has gained the experience he came here to attain. When we do go from precept to precept and line upon line until we do master all things, but as creation folds up, creation is not as if it never was. DK describes the great pralaya as “not as that which is not, but that which is esoteric.” He says that which we take with is “the quality of conscious knowledge and the fruit of all experience.”
This cannot happen in Tolle’s Nothingness Philosophy because he says that when all is said and done the world of creation with all us egos will be as if it never was.
DK talks about the first solar system and even though it is no more in the world of form he talks frequently of how its past existence still has a powerful effect on our present. Tolle says that only the present matters.
From Tolle’s perspective it should have no effect since it has gone to the Unmanifest.
The problem of Tolle placing so much emphasis on the fruitlessness of this world is that many followers will put premature attention on escape and wind up being of no use to God and man, similar to Tolle during the two years he spent on a park bench just dreaming of otherworldliness. It’s a good thing some well-meaning souls still in this world gave him some scraps to eat.
All those who believe in the “Nothingness Philosophy” admit that we have to make the best of the current reality, but they say in the end it will be as if nothing in creation ever was.
A lot of what Tolle says in this direction comes from A Course in Miracles, from which he seems to extract many of his teachings, but the Course does not teach that the final reality is nothingness, but everything. It does describe this world as a dream from which we will awaken, but it does say we will take some things with us just as DK does. Here is a quote:
“All your past except its beauty is gone, and nothing is left but a blessing. I have saved all your kindnesses and every loving thought you ever had. I have purified them of the errors that hid their light, and kept them for you in their own perfect radiance. They are beyond destruction.” T-5.IV.8
According to the Course then all that is related to love and beauty will go with us to the eternal world, which is far from nothingness.
I’ve received some additional comment relating the idea that my teachings are on the mental level reaching to the emotional and Tolle’s are from the buddhic/intuitive level reaching out to the mentally polarized.
To this Anni makes an interesting response:
“This simply doesn’t make sense to me! Do you really think that Tolle is teaching on the buddhic level? And just how many people on this earth would need that as their next step? Humanity is still polarized on the astral level, so even if we pretend that Tolle’s teachings are on the buddhic level — how many people would he appeal to on this earth? 10? 20? 30? 100? Certainly not ‘the masses’ — it is NOT their next step.
“In fact JJ’s teachings are for ‘the masses’ — helping them to take their next step into mental polarization.”
I agree with Anni here. I think my critics have it backwards.
The intuition reaches up to the buddhic plane and brings down original ideas and new light on principles, for the language in this plane is the language of principles.
As I read through Tolle’s words I see no new principles revealed and no new light shed on existing principles. He’s basically encapsulated several existing philosophies into a format of his own. If one maintains that Tolle is drawing from the buddhic level then you need to find a new principle that he is expounding.
If Tolle wants to reach mentally polarized people and lift them up then he would have to first reach into the buddhic plane himself and draw new principles and then present them on a mental level. Because Tolle sees the mind as an obstacle that needs to be set aside then I don’t see much of a chance of doing this. If he is not using the mind then he will be reduced to speaking on an emotional level. However, I see that he does use some mind even though he calls mind an enemy.
ET Dialog
I never intended to get so sidetracked on my differences with Eckhart Tolle [ET], but after all this feedback I thought I would make a post covering some of his teachings and whether or not they agree with my thinking.
ET: “Truth is within.”
JJ: A common maxim, but only half true. In this world we are stimulated from without and verify from within.
ET: “You are not your mind.”
JJ: Another ancient maxim and is true concerning your lower mind.
ET: “The greatest obstacle to obtaining the bliss of Being is identification with the mind.”
JJ: It is an obstacle to a handful of people who use their minds, but the greatest obstacle is identification with lower emotion since this is where about 90% of humanity is polarized.
ET: “Enlightenment is a state of wholeness, of being ‘at one’ and therefore at peace. At one with life in its manifested aspect, the world, as well as with your deepest self and life unmanifested — at one with Being.”
JJ: Enlightenment has to do with “light” rather than peace. An enlightened one receives light and has an increase in knowledge and understanding because of it. Peace comes to most people who follow their inner guidance.
ET: “We are one with all there is.”
JJ: Esoterically this is true.
ET: “Thinking has become a disease.”
JJ: Illusion is the disease and correct thinking is the cure.
ET: “There is a vast realm of intelligence beyond thought.”
JJ: Without thought does intelligence even manifest? I do not think so. What is overlooked by Tolle is that there is a higher and lower mind. The lower mind is subject to illusion and the higher is not.
ET: “We need to watch the thinker to achieve enlightenment.”
JJ: Partially true. We need to be able to see ourselves as the observer and watch the physical, emotional and mental parts of ourselves as if we were watching a movie to avoid getting too attached.
ET: “The good news is that you can free yourself from your mind. This is the only true liberation.”
JJ: This may be a step toward liberation. The first great step happens when the seeker can recognize illusions that are embraced by the lower mind and then dispels them.
ET: “You can enter bliss in a ‘no mind’ state.”
JJ: This applies to the lower mind only. The higher mind never sleeps. If it did, we would not exist.
You can get quite blissful quieting the mind and emotions, but then it is necessary to return to the real (or unreal) world of form and play here until we achieve liberation.
Many things that Tolle says causes him pain are entertaining to me, which makes me wonder what kind of thinking process he uses.
The true object of all human life is play. —G.K. Chesterton
March 20, 2008
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