Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings - podcast cover

Eckhart Tolle: Essential Teachings

Oprah and Eckhart Tolleoprah.com
Oprah Winfrey is delighted to introduce a new weekly podcast series from one of the great spiritual thinkers of our time: Eckhart Tolle. Eckhart’s wisdom will help you learn to quiet your mind, separate your ego from your true self and live a fully present life. Essential Teachings by Eckhart will provide a path to discover an enlightened state of consciousness. Oprah says Eckhart transformed her life and hopes these Essential Teachings will inspire you to seek your own higher purpose.

Episodes

Essential Teachings Special: Love and Connection

Original Air Date: August 5, 2021 Eckhart Tolle meets with an international audience and answers questions on topics we can all relate to such as: are love and consciousness the same thing? Why do our egos drive us to be separate and define the people in our lives as “other?” He also addresses a subject that troubles parents everywhere…navigating screen time with our children and the overwhelming impact of technology. Eckhart says we can begin to help our children by tending to our own state of ...

Apr 17, 202549 min

Essential Teachings Special: Eckhart’s Inner Journey

Original Air Date: July 29, 2021 Eckhart Tolle shares the story of his own personal journey and the spiritual transformation that led to his groundbreaking work. He recalls his childhood in Germany and Spain, his parents’ tumultuous relationship and subsequent divorce. At the age of 29, he experienced a soul-crushing depression that pushed him to the brink of despair. Out of that pain, Eckhart says he experienced a profound awakening that changed the course of his life forever. He went on to sha...

Apr 10, 202548 min

Essential Teachings Special: Inner Peace

Original Air Date: July 22, 2021 Eckhart Tolle talks about the path to Inner Peace. He emphasizes that our inner state is not contingent on outer circumstances. Our job is to align with what he calls the “Is-ness” of the present moment, release excessive thinking and refrain from reacting to the external conditions of our lives. We accept whatever is happening in the here and now. Eckhart says our true purpose is to awaken to who we are beyond our three dimensional form. There is more to each of...

Apr 03, 202547 min

Essential Teachings Special: The United States of Awareness

Original Air Date: July 15, 2021 Eckhart Tolle talks with a live audience about a phenomenon he sees unfolding: which is the awakening of individuals around the world. He jokes that he could call them The United States of Awareness. He says awakening humans are like hybrids experiencing a metamorphosis, like caterpillars becoming butterflies. He encourages everyone to tend to their state of consciousness and to make it a practice. He says whatever happens in our lives, accept that it’s exactly w...

Mar 27, 202545 min

Essential Teachings Special: What Is Essential Is Invisible To The Eye

Original Air Date: July 8, 2021 Eckhart Tolle begins his talk joking with a live audience about a video game reviewed in the New York Times called Stillness. He laughs and wonders if his work is having an impact on mainstream culture after all. He says one thing is certain, the world is definitely growing in awareness. Eckhart ponders the fact that all the qualities that are deeply essential in us are invisible to the eye: our consciousness, our sense of aliveness, our love and our joy. Eckhart ...

Mar 20, 202554 min

Essential Teachings Special: Purpose of Existence

Original Air Date: July 21, 2021 Eckhart Tolle touches on the purpose of human existence which he sees as evolutionary, awakening, to become fully human. He then answers related questions from a live audience on a wide range of topics: How much of our lives are within our control? Can we really plan for the future? How do we deal with the pain-body and also stay conscious? Eckhart says if we align with the “is-ness” of the present moment and pay attention to our state of consciousness, the futur...

Mar 13, 202549 min

Essential Teachings Special: Dealing With Expectations

Original Air Date: June 24, 2021 In this podcast, Eckhart Tolle answers questions from a live audience about issues we all can relate to… like what to do when we compare ourselves to others, how to turn family arguments into opportunities for conscious relationships and how anger can actually be used as a tool for spiritual growth. Eckhart says comparison is one of the favorite devices of the ego. He says when we get in touch with the essence of who we truly are, the dysfunctional dynamic of com...

Mar 06, 202550 min

Essential Teachings Special: The Time is Always Now

Original Air Date: June 17, 2021 Eckhart Tolle talks with a live audience about the importance of living in the now. Drawing on ideas from his best-selling book, The Power of Now, Eckhart encourages participants not to linger on past mistakes, but to learn from them and then let them go. He says we must remember that there is only ever now, not as a memory, but a live realization. Situations arise in our lives, but only in the present moment. And we should not let our life situation obscure the ...

Feb 27, 202553 min

Essential Teachings Special: Transcending Our Stories

Original Air Date: June 10, 2021 Eckhart Tolle talks with a live audience about our tendency to manufacture stories...about ourselves and others; our desperate need to be right and to make others wrong. Eckhart says having a story actually strengthens the ego and keeps us stuck. However, we don’t have to stay there. He says we can learn to shift our inner narrative, release the ego and align ourselves with the peace of the present moment.

Feb 20, 202546 min

Essential Teachings Special: Practice of Presence

Original Air Date: May 21, 2021 Eckhart Tolle elaborates on the paradox of order and chaos that exists in our world. For many of us, especially this past year, living through the pandemic has wreaked havoc on our lives. We’ve experienced loss of socializing, income and perhaps the loss of someone we love. While we might be tempted to despair, Eckhart says order and chaos are an essential part of a higher order. He says there are larger forces at work in the Universe and if we can surrender to th...

Feb 13, 202543 min

Essential Teachings Special: Transforming Our Consciousness Through Adversity

Original Air Date: May 27, 2021 Eckhart Tolle says that we should not panic when life’s difficulties arise. He says adversity actually plays a critical role in the evolution of our consciousness. Without it we would not learn to lead what he calls an awakened life. Eckhart quotes an ancient Roman aphorism: Per Aspera Ad Astra... which translates into, “It is through adversity that we reach the stars.”

Feb 06, 202532 min

Essential Teachings Special: Challenging Times Can Awaken Us

Original Air Date: May 21, 2021 Eckhart Tolle shares his wisdom on living through challenging times. Whether it’s political upheaval, the pandemic or a personal crisis, Eckhart explains why adversity can actually help us to awaken to the deeper dimension of who we are.

Jan 30, 202537 min

Essential Teachings Special: The Paradox of Order and Chaos

Original Air Date: May 21, 2021 Eckhart Tolle elaborates on the paradox of order and chaos that exists in our world. For many of us, especially this past year, living through the pandemic has wreaked havoc on our lives. We’ve experienced loss of socializing, income and perhaps the loss of someone we love. While we might be tempted to despair, Eckhart says order and chaos are an essential part of a higher order. He says there are larger forces at work in the Universe and if we can surrender to th...

Jan 23, 202544 min

Essential Teachings Special: Challenging Times Can Awaken Us

Original Air Date: May 21, 2021 Eckhart Tolle shares his wisdom on living through challenging times. Whether it’s political upheaval, the pandemic or a personal crisis, Eckhart explains why adversity can actually help us to awaken to the deeper dimension of who we are.

Jan 16, 202537 min

Disorder Precedes Transcendence

In this podcast, Eckhart talks with an audience in Hawaii and then answers questions. Someone asks if the human race is going to survive. Eckhart explains if humanity is aligned with the purpose of the universe, which is the evolution of consciousness, we will continue. He says what needs to happen is that a sufficient number of people reach the next stage of development. He warns, if we remain stuck in the ego, we risk destruction. Eckhart explains evolution happens through disruption of order ...

Jan 09, 202532 min

What We Call My Life Is a Mental Fiction

In this episode, Eckhart elaborates on the narratives we create called My Life. He says these stories are really a work of fiction. It’s like we’re following a script. We play our part and go through all the motions. He explains when we identify with these scripts, we’re unconscious and stuck in the grip of the ego. These patterns may go back generations and include family dysfunction and that too becomes part of our story. Family members have their scripts, and we have ours. Eckhart says when w...

Jan 02, 202534 min

Reclaiming Consciousness from The Mind

In this episode, Eckhart talks about the Being dimension which is where we find our true essence. However, for many of us Eckhart says our beingness gets lost in thinking. Our job is to separate the two. We reclaim consciousness from the mind because he explains this separation is the essence of all spiritual practice. Eckhart describes his own awakening as an example. This liberation transformed his life. As a result, Eckhart went on to become one of the great spiritual teachers of our time. Wa...

Dec 26, 202440 min

Pain Is the Touchstone To All Spiritual Growth

In this podcast, Eckhart talks about how difficult life circumstances often trigger awakening. Whether it’s a life-threatening disease, loss of a loved one or break up of a marriage he says pain is the touchstone to all spiritual growth. Eckhart says many people eventually become grateful for their problems because without them they would not evolve. Eckhart also describes it as liberation from the burden of oneself. When the hard shell of the ego cracks open, we discover a realm of consciousnes...

Dec 19, 202431 min

We Are Part of a Vast Evolutionary Movement

In this episode, Eckhart explains that it is the destiny of all people to awaken from the conditioning of their minds and to free themselves from compulsive thinking. He explains when we resist awakening, we create suffering for ourselves and others. But even then difficulties can eventually bring about spiritual growth. He says the process is gradual and there will be many setbacks because humanity is not a finished product. Eckhart explains the entire universe is moving toward higher conscious...

Dec 12, 202435 min

There Is Beauty in The Simplest Things

In this episode, Eckhart talks with an audience in Prague. He explains what happens as we become more conscious. He says we suddenly recognize our Beingness, in addition to the human aspect of ourselves. We become aware of the transcendent realm that Eckhart describes as an emanation from the one source of universal consciousness. Eckhart says we can also call this God. Clarity emerges, because our mind is free of compulsive thinking. We sense more deeply the aliveness of everything around us. W...

Dec 05, 202435 min

Liberation From the Ego Is The End Of Suffering

In this podcast, Eckhart talks further about a necessary shift in consciousness. Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism all point to this message. Collectively, we’ve been reaching toward enlightenment for millennia. The Buddha taught that we are here to awaken. Jesus also emphasized the importance of staying awake. Each of these traditions suggests there is a higher level of consciousness beyond our waking state. But Eckhart says for most of us that lies dormant because we are enme...

Nov 28, 202439 min

The Search for Identity

In this podcast, Eckhart talks with an audience in Prague. He explains that most people are searching for an identity. For many that leads to disappointment. Eckhart uses the word dukkha which in Buddhism means suffering. He explains most of us are consumed with thoughts about our problems which become part of our identity. We also define ourselves through externals: our bodies, possessions, even our ancestry becomes an identity. Eckhart says many people don’t realize they are unhappy because th...

Nov 21, 202431 min

Freedom From Reactivity

In this episode, Eckhart talks further about freeing ourselves from the ego. He says while it served a powerful purpose for our spiritual growth, it’s now time to let it go. Eckhart explains one of the pitfalls of the ego is our emotional reactivity. He says challenges have the potential to pull us into anger and fear. When we react, we’re at the mercy of situations and other people; they affect us internally. But they don’t have to because Eckhart says it's an enormous discovery to finally real...

Nov 14, 202439 min

Sensing The Sacredness of The Universe

In this episode, Eckhart talks about the two different aspects of knowing: conceptual knowing and a deeper kind of intuitive knowing. He says indigenous cultures and people in the ancient world were deeply familiar with the idea that everything has a soul. They shared a profound empathy with nature and felt its aliveness. Eckhart says we have lost touch with this kind of knowing in current times. Through the overdevelopment of thinking, we have reduced the natural world to mental concepts. Today...

Nov 07, 202437 min

Love The Is-Ness of The Present Moment, No Matter What

In this podcast, Eckhart says as we grow spiritually, we approach the challenges in our lives differently. We may encounter obstacles or difficult people, but he says we don’t get discouraged. We should face the issue in front of us consciously because we’ve learned to accept the present moment with ease. The ego believes fighting against situations is real power, but the opposite is actually true. The ancient romans had a phrase: Amor Fati. Eckhart says it means to love what is. He explains tru...

Oct 31, 202434 min

Taking Action as A Spiritual Practice

In this episode, Eckhart talks with an audience in Hawaii. He jokes that while many are reluctant to leave the island paradise, their task is to bring expanded consciousness to every area of their lives. Eckhart explains as awareness grows, we add a dimension of presence to everything we do. We may work the same job, but we do it in a different way. We become still and then take our insights into action. Eckhart says giving the fullest attention to our performance in the moment is critical. Then...

Oct 24, 202433 min

The Difficult People In Your Life Are A Catalyst For Change

In this episode, Eckhart explains once we accept that life is here to challenge us, we can let go of our resistance. When adversity shows up, including the difficult people in our lives, we can recognize them as a catalyst for change. Eckhart says no one can act beyond their level of consciousness. And when we expect others to be more aware than they are, it’s a recipe for suffering. Eckhart admits we all will experience conflict in relationships with family, friends and colleagues. He reiterate...

Oct 17, 202436 min

Know Thyself

In this episode, Eckhart unveils more of his unique wisdom. He elaborates on knowing one’s self beyond our conceptual identity. He explains we all have an image of ourselves defined by our bodies, clothes, careers, and the voice in the head which he describes as the narratives we create to interpret the world. All these things contribute to our sense of self. Eckhart says we need to look further. He explains the ancient Greeks defined the idea with the aphorism Know Thyself. Eckhart says this wi...

Oct 10, 202433 min

Be In The World, But Not Of It

In this podcast, Eckhart discusses the Horizontal and the Vertical dimensions as he has in previous talks. Eckhart explains the Horizontal is the realm of our everyday lives, where we experience the world with our senses, doing and thinking. Then there’s the Vertical or the transcendent which is where we have the root of our being. Eckhart says it’s our job to bring the two together and to have a foot in both worlds. Eckhart says as we grow in awareness, we will realize we are but temporary mani...

Oct 03, 202441 min

The Greatest Spiritual Practice Is Letting Go Of Thought

In this episode, Eckhart talks more about transcending the heavy burden of self. He says most people can’t stand themselves and yearn to be free…even if the desire is unconscious. He says the relentless barrage of thinking pushes many to seek relief… through substances like… alcohol, marijuana or other drugs. He explains for a fleeting moment we may find a reprieve… until the high wears off…and we’re back in the turmoil again. Or we post on social media…hoping to find love and acceptance there… ...

Sep 26, 202434 min