2008-3-13 01:42:00
Dan:
"I find myself in the awkward position of having hoisted myself by my own petard, i.e.; pitting my own pitiful soul contact against that of the teacher of soul contact himself!"
JJ:
I do not see the situation in this light at all. You have just as much right to soul contact as I do. I am confident that Tolle's writings that speak to your soul are giving you a direction that will be beneficial to you. I am also confident that if you give me a quote that feels right to you that my soul would see that rightness also. For instance, the last batch of quotes you gave on consciousness all have truth in them to be realized. It is important to realize that when I find some of the words of another teacher that projects some illusion that does not mean that I do not think there can be much truth to be discovered. In fact a teacher can take a true principle and put it into technically incorrect words yet through the soul the student can see the correct essence and benefit therefrom.
The quotes you gave from Tolle on consciousness are all good and have meat to be gleaned from the reader with soul contact.
I'm sure that whenever you give me an actual quote that spoke to you that I could see why your soul responded. I have enough faith in our mutual soul contact to believe this.
Eckhart Tolle is popular because he obviously has a message that speaks to people. In my opinion many of the things he says are quite accurate. Some of what he says is true but he presents it differently and with different words than myself.
Then there are several things where he is actually speaking around true principles but comes to an erroneous conclusion or perhaps one could say they could lead a student in an illusionary direction.
He seems to do this around the principle of detachment and duality. Both of these are true principles, but if incorrectly presented or understood can lead to illusion.
For instance, if rightly taught and understood detachment can lead to great liberation and this is the goal that Tolle presents to us. On the other hand, if wrongly presented and understood the student will go away thinking that he needs to be so disconnected from reality that he will never step forward to correct any wrongs. DK [Djwhal Khul] points out that some who misunderstood these principles were erroneously neutral during World War II and if all had this attitude Hitler would have won the war.
In many situations the enlightened student cannot just sit back and say "this too shall pass" or "nothing in this reality is of importance."
Tolle reinforces this paralysis that many "new age" people have in their actions by emphasizing that " the present is all there is."
Now this seems to be an obvious undeniable truth and can be taken to illusionary conclusions. Many students conclude that since the present is all there is the future and the past be damned. I will be happy now no mater what. Thus would the student in the days of Hitler live in bliss while his fellow Jews are being hauled to extermination camps and Hitler takes over the world.
It is true that the world can be falling apart around the disciple and he can still access peace at his core but his personality self may be in great turbulence, and rightfully so. This allows him to correctly handle situations in our present reality so we can successfully function here.
The truth is the present is NOT all there is. The present can only exist when there is also a past and a future. The present is a point of tension in a triangle of reality composed of the past, future and the present. The true seeker must not only live in the present, but all three simultaneously.
What seems to be missing from Tolle's teachings on the present, good and evil, duality, etc., is The Second Key of Judgement.
It is true that many get struck in the past and cannot let go. Others dream of the future and never materialize their dreams. But others get stuck in the present and only want to satisfy their own selfish needs. Using judgement one can balance all three so they work and then harmlessly use the power of the present to achieve fulfillment.
Tolle says we should not fight evil. If we take him at his word then we should have no law enforcement for their job is to fight evil. On the other hand, judgement tells us that yes, obviously society needs law enforcement to contain the evils of society. Without them we would see the much greater evil of mob rule.
The bottom line is this. Even though some of the ways that Tolle words his presentation rubs me the wrong way, I would in no way discourage anyone here from reading him and incorporating into their lives that which seems right to their souls. After all, I am reading him myself. I do not see myself as being in competition with him or any other teacher, and if someone else speaks to you then always pay attention to what the inner self directs.
One of my favorite quotes on soul contact is one of my own from The Archives:
"One with soul contact can find more truth in the National Enquirer than one who is in illusion can find in the Bible."
Copyright © 2008 by J.J. Dewey, All Rights Reserved