Descriptions of practices here are historical and educational, not personal instruction or health advice.
Life
Eckhart Tolle was born Ulrich Leonard Tölle in Lünen, Germany, and spent part of his youth in Spain. He studied at the University of London and began graduate research at Cambridge. By his own account, at 29, after years of anxiety and depression, he went through a sudden inner shift one night in which identification with his anxious thoughts fell away, followed by a long period of quiet. He later worked as a counsellor and spiritual teacher in London and then moved to Vancouver. The Power of Now (1997) spread by word of mouth and became an international bestseller; A New Earth (2005) reached a very large audience through Oprah Winfrey's book club and a 2008 webinar series. He belongs to no tradition, but draws freely on Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, Christian mysticism and Taoism. ORDL presents his ideas as reflective reading, not therapy.
The system
- Presence: attention resting in the present moment rather than in mental commentary.
- Ego as identification with thought and with the stories we tell about ourselves.
- The 'pain-body': old emotional pain that is reactivated and feeds on new drama.
- Inner stillness as something to return to daily, not a one-time experience.
Key works
- The Power of Now (1997) Amazon
- Stillness Speaks (2003) Amazon
- A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (2005) Amazon
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Where to start
- The Power of Now first, read slowly; A New Earth applies the same ideas to ego, relationships and society.
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