What Does It Feel Like to Awaken Spiritually? | Eckhart Tolle

TL;DR

Spiritual awakening feels like recognizing the incessant voice in your head from a deeper state of awareness or presence. As thinking briefly subsides, an underlying spaciousness can emerge with intense aliveness, deep peace, and connectedness with being. Eckhart Tolle explains how complete attention to a sunset, the ocean, the sky, or a baby’s gaze can open these glimpses, offering practical signs to read on for.

Transcript

(bell dings) - And for many, the beginning of spiritual awakening is to realize that there is this stream of continuous commentary in their minds and that is to think, oh, that's interesting. That's a thought, of course, but before the thought that's interesting, the recognition, it's a voice in the head. And the recognition is not the voice in the... Read More

Key Insights

• 🔮 The recognition of the continuous stream of thoughts in our minds is a key part of spiritual awakening, leading to a higher consciousness and awareness.
• 🤔 Many people mistakenly believe that they are actively thinking, when in reality they are being thought by their thoughts, creating an energy field.
• 🌌 "Emptying the cup" is a metaphor for creating spaciousness within ourselves, a spiritual dimension of consciousness that is often overlooked due to mental clutter.
• 🌅 Moments of experiencing something beautiful or awe-inspiring, such as a sunset or the innocence of a baby's gaze, can briefly free us from the incessant stream of thinking, allowing glimpses into this deeper consciousness.
• 💭 These flashes of higher consciousness, although not always recognized as such, can provide a sense of aliveness, peace, and connection to being, keeping many people grounded and sane.
• ❗️ For some individuals, the burden of their noisy minds prevents them from perceiving the beauty of nature or connecting with others on a deeper level, creating a veil that blocks their awareness of the spiritual dimension.
• 🎙️ More videos with Eckhart Tolle:
  • The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle — Full Audiobook Summary
  • The Power of Now Explained: 10 Life-Changing Lessons from Eckhart Tol…
  • The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle Summary - Part 2

Questions & Answers

Q: What does it feel like to awaken spiritually, according to Eckhart Tolle?

It can feel like recognizing the continuous commentary in your mind without being absorbed by it. When thinking briefly subsides, you may experience intense aliveness, deep peace, and connectedness with being.

Q: How does recognizing the voice in your head begin spiritual awakening?

The beginning is noticing that a continuous stream of commentary is occurring in the mind. Tolle says the recognition of thought is not itself a thought; it comes through awareness or presence, which he calls higher consciousness.

Q: What does Eckhart Tolle mean when he says people are “being thought by thought”?

He means that thinking is not a voluntary action for many people, even though they say, “I think.” Instead, thought continuously operates and creates the energy field with which they identify.

Q: What does “empty your cup” mean in spiritual practice?

The Zen teaching points to becoming free of mental clutter so a deeper dimension of consciousness can be recognized. Tolle says completely emptying the cup would amount to immediate enlightenment, while the teaching itself directs attention toward emptiness.

Q: Why does Eckhart Tolle translate emptiness as spaciousness?

He says “emptiness” can sound as though something is missing. His alternative, “spaciousness,” describes an underlying dimension of consciousness that he also calls spiritual, deeper, or higher consciousness.

Q: Is spiritual spaciousness present in everyone?

Tolle says this dimension of consciousness exists in every human. Many people do not realize it because their mental clutter is so dense that the underlying spaciousness remains dormant.

Q: How can nature create a glimpse of spiritual awakening?

Giving complete attention to a sunset, the ocean, the sky, wind, or a storm can briefly free you from incessant thinking. In that pause, you may feel heightened aliveness, deep peace, and connectedness rather than thinking about yourself, your problems, or your future.

Q: Why can looking into a baby’s eyes create a sense of spaciousness?

Tolle describes a one-year-old baby as looking with intense consciousness but without judgment because words and thoughts have not yet accumulated. For a few seconds, that encounter may liberate you from your stream of thinking and allow spaciousness to open.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Spiritual awakening begins with recognizing the constant stream of thoughts in our minds and understanding that this is not our true identity.

• Emptiness, translated as spaciousness, is a dimension of consciousness within us that is often overlooked due to the clutter of our minds.

• Moments of spaciousness can arise when we fully engage in sense perception or connect with the pure consciousness of a baby, providing glimpses into the spiritual dimension.