From ‘Practicing the Power of Now’ by Eckhart Tolle

The beginning of freedom is the realization
that you are not “the thinker.”
The moment you start watching the thinker,
a higher level of consciousness becomes activated.
You then begin to realize that there is a vast realm
of intelligence beyond thought, that thought is only a
tiny aspect of that intelligence.
You also realize that all the things that truly matter -
beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace -
arise from beyond the mind.
You begin to awaken.


When your consciousness
is directed outward,
mind and world arise.
When it is directed inward,
it realizes its own Source
and returns home into the Unmanifested



Identification with your mind creates an opaque screen of concepts, labels, images, words, judgements, and definitions that blocks all true relationships. It comes between you and yourself, between you and your fellow man and woman, between you and nature, between you and God. It is this screen of thought that creates the illusion of separateness, the illusion that there is you and a totally separate “other.” You then forget the essential fact that, underneath the level of physical appearances and separate forms, you are one with all that is.



Start listening to the voice in your head as often as you can. Pay particular attention to any repetitive thought patterns, those old audiotapes that have been playing in your head perhaps for many years.

This is what I mean by “watching the thinker,”…….



So when you listen to a thought, you are aware not only of the thought but also of yourself as the witness of the thought. A new dimension of consciousness has come in.



As you listen to the thought, you feel a conscious presence – your deeper self – behind or underneath the thought….. The thought then loses its power over you and quickly subsides, because you are no longer energizing the mind through identification with it.



When a thought subsides, you experience a discontinuity in the mental stream – a gap of “no-mind.” At first, the gaps will be short, a few seconds perhaps, but gradually they will become longer. When these gaps occur, you feel a certain stillness and peace inside you…… With practice, the sense of stillness and peace will deepen. …..As you go more deeply into this realm of no-mind, as is sometimes called in the East, you realize the state of pure consciousness.

…….Just become intensely conscious of the present moment. …..

One day you may catch yourself smiling at the voice in your head, as you would smile at the antics of a child.



Direct your attention into the body. Is there any tension?

Once you detect that there is a low level of unease, the background static, see in what way you are avoiding, resisting, or denying life – by denying the Now.



The key is to be in a state of permanent connectedness with your inner body – to feel it at all times…… The more consciousness you direct into the inner body, the higher its vibrational frequency becomes, much like a light that grows brighter as you turn up the dimmer switch and so increase the flow of electricity. At this higher energy level, negativity cannot affect you anymore, and you tend to attract new circumstances that reflect this higher frequency



Whenever an answer, a solution, or a creative idea is needed, stop thinking for a moment by focusing attention on your inner energy field. Become aware of the stillness.

When you resume thinking, it will be fresh and creative.



St. Paul expressed this universal principle …. “Everything is shown up by being exposed to the light, and whatever is exposed to the light itself becomes light.”



…Jesus said: “Look at the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin.”

If your overall situation is unsatisfactory or unpleasant, separate out this instant and surrender to what is. That’s the flashlight cutting through the fog. Your state of consciousness then ceases to be controlled by external conditions. You are no longer coming from reaction and resistance.

Then look at the specifics of the situation. As yourself, “Is there anything I can do to change the situation, improve it, or remove myself from it?” If so, take appropriate action.