Eckhart Tolle is a German writer born on February 16, 1948, who currently resides in Canada. Tolle is world-famous due to the high sales of his self-help and spirituality books.
During his life, he lived in several countries: Germany, Spain, England, and finally Canada.
He did not receive any traditional education during his adolescence, although he did take courses in crafts and languages to educate himself.
At the age of 18, he completed his secondary studies at night school to enter the University of London and Cambridge University.
You can say that he had a “normal life” until the age of 29, when he experienced a profound spiritual awakening.
Here are some of the most exciting aspects of Eckhart Tolle.
An unhappy childhood
Eckhart Tolle’s life has several aspects that allow us to understand the personality of the writer. He is the only child of a marriage that never got along. He grew up in Germany after World War II. For this reason, it was common for him to play in destroyed places. This sad, distressing and hopeless environment forged in him a depressive personality that would accompany him for 29 years.
The financial problems of that time generated coexistence issues between his parents. They finally decided to separate, which deeply saddened the writer’s childhood.
Then he moved to Spain with his father, but it was difficult for him to adapt to that country.
He suffered bullying for being a foreigner and for not knowing how to speak Spanish.
At the age of 17, he moved to England to start his university studies. During his stay in that country, Tolle experienced extraordinary spiritual enlightenment.
An extraordinary spiritual awakening
Tolle was a man who suffered from anxiety, anguish, depression, and suicidal thoughts until he was 29 years old.
While he was finishing his university studies in England, he lived an extraordinary experience that would change his life forever.
He woke up suddenly feeling a deep terror during one night, something that had happened to him several times before, but this time it was worse than ever.
From the darkness, he observed the furniture, the silence of the place, and the distant noise of a train passing by.
Tolle felt a deep hostility towards everything around him because he hated himself.
Suicidal thoughts came to his mind again. He did not want to go on living; he could not find any meaning to his existence. Then he said to himself: “I can’t go on living with me.”
He, without knowing it, experienced a duality: an earthly identity that did not want to continue living and his Higher Self that was oblivious to the horror he was experiencing.
Moment of truth
His mind stopped; there were no more thoughts. He felt drawn into a vortex of energy. Then he heard the phrase “Resist nothing.”
Suddenly he felt an emptiness inside him, and he let himself fall into that emptiness.
The following day he felt a deep peace he had never experienced before. He remained blissful for five months without understanding what had happened.
Then, thanks to his studies on spirituality, he understood what had happened. The intense suffering he was experiencing forced his conscience to withdraw from his identification as an unhappy individual.
It was all a fiction created by his mind. After that spiritual awakening, he was able to experience his true identity. He began to live in a state of pure consciousness, which is not identified with earthly identity.
There was nothing left of him on the physical plane: he had no home, no job, no college studies, no interpersonal relationships, and no defined earthly identity. Despite this, he lived happily in a state of peace.
Spiritual Counselor
After experiencing this spiritual enlightenment, Tolle lived as a vagabond on the streets of London. He supported himself financially from his savings.
No one understood that he could be happy living a vagabond’s life. His relatives thought he had gone mad. Despite this, many people approached Tolle for advice.
They would say, “I want to be as happy as you are. Teach me how to achieve it”. He would reply, “You can do it right now. The problem is that your mind is making too much noise. Focus on the present time”.
One day he decided to pass on his knowledge to people and moved to Canada to become a spiritual counselor. He published his first book in 1997, The Power of Now, in which he emphasizes how important it is to focus the mind on the present time.
This prevents the mind from identifying with the false earthly identity that distances us from our true essence. This attitude also prevents negative thoughts from confusing us and making us feel bad.
Concentrating on the present creates a new consciousness that transcends earthly reality. That book was a success in terms of sales, allowing Tolle to become a reference in self-help.
Oprah Winfrey recommended this book in her magazine, which made him famous. Since then, he has published dozens of successful books.
Beliefs
Tolle does not follow any particular religion but considers himself a spiritual individual. However, he claims that his spiritual beliefs are based on Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity.
The teachings he transmits in his books transcend the cultural and temporal limits of each individual. Tolle believes that focusing on the present time connects us with our true essence, ignoring thoughts that may point us to the contrary.
This exercise improves all aspects of life: work, interpersonal relationships, health, etc. Also, focusing on the present is a great help to overcome moments of existential anguish.
Studying Eckhart Tolle’s biography, we discovered another key for spiritual evolution: to dissolve the ego. This mind element serves to move us in the physical reality but prevents us from evolving in the long term. Remember that you are a formless consciousness and that your natural state is inner peace.
Recommended audio book: Eckhart Tolle – The Power of Now.
