Eckhart Tolle & 10 Ways to change the world through yourself

According to Eckhart Tolle, the human mind craves not only food for thought, but clues to its identity, or sense of self. Life is like an onion where you peel away the layers of skin to discover what you've been hiding from yourself.  Your ego emerges and continuously re-creates itself. Your mind interprets the world to make sense of who you are. To do so, you're often conditioned by the past and seek to find fulfillment in future. Tolle urges us to recognize The Power of Now :

1) Explore your fear. When thoughts capture your full attention, it means you identify with the voice in your head. Thought guides your sense of self. This is the ego. That mentally-constructed self that ells you it feels incomplete and precarious. That’s why fear and want are predominant emotions and motivating forces. Why do you really allow yourself to experience dissatisfaction?

2) Inner voices aren't the whole truth. As you recognize a voice in your head pretends to be you and speaks constantly, you move away from unconscious acceptance of this mindset. When you notice that voice, you realize who you are is not the voice (the thinker) but the listener, the one who is aware. Knowing yourself as the awareness behind the voice is the key to your freedom.

3) Stop seeking. Your ego pursuades you to seek, aspire for more things to make itself feel more complete.  Why does it seem insatiable? This explains the ego’s compulsive preoccupation with future. If you slowly become aware of yourself "living for the next moment," you learn to step out of that pattern.  You choose to devote your full attention to this moment.

4) Recognize there's more to it. When you live through the ego, you always view the present moment to a means to an end. You live for the future, and when you achieve your goals, they, like pleasure, end quickly and don’t satisfy you.   As you give more attention to the doing than to the future result you aim to achieve through it, you redefine your old conditioning. Your efforts exerted become not only more effective, but infinitely more fulfilling and joyful without end.

5) Step outside your prison.  Even if your grievances seem "justified," you have created an identity for yourself like a prison whose bars grow out of your thoughts.  Note what you do to yourself, how your mind brainwashes you. Feel the emotional attachment you have to your victim story. Be aware of the compulsion to think or talk about it. Witness your inner state. You don’t have to do anything. With awareness comes transformation and freedom. Rather than practicing self-loathing and criticism, express self-love and acceptance to break through the bars.

6) Eliminate the inner judge. Complaining and wallowing are some of the ego's favorite mind patterns. They strengthen ego and feul a negative fire.  By doing this, you judge others or a situation "wrong" and yourself "right." Through being "right," you feel superior, and through feeling superior, you strengthen a sense of self. In reality, you only strengthen the illusion of ego. Can you observe patterns within and recognize the complaining voice in your head for what it is? In your dealings with people, can you detect subtle feelings of either superiority or inferiority?

7) Resist comparison. Envy is a by-product of the ego.  It may grow if good things happen for others, or someone has more, knows more, or can do more than you. The ego’s identity depends on comparison and feeds on more.  It grasps at anything.  If all else fails, you strengthen your fictitious sense of self through seeing yourself as more unfairly treated by life, more ill or worse off than others. Describe stories.  What are fictions from which you derive your sense of self?

8) Recognize addictions to patterns. The ego desiresconflict with something or someone. That explains why you seek peace and joy and love, but may not experience or tolerate them for long. You say you want happiness, but may be obsessed with unhappiness and reasons to change. Your unhappiness ultimately arises not from life conditions, but from the conditioning of your mind.

9) See through guilt. This is another attempt by the ego to create an identity, a sense of self. The ego doesn’t care whether that self is positive or negative. What you did or failed to do is a manifestation of unconsciousness. You personalize it.  Giving into ego will not free yourself from the ties that bind, enhance yourself or, your sense of importance. Even if you achieve a clearer identity, it won’t satisfy. What can you do to circumvent guilt or nip it in the bud?

10) Rethink goals. Understand that the achieving any aim is less important than your impetus led you to think. Experience in this moment is not a means to an end. Its the doing that is fulfilling in itself every moment.  Incremental goals may have high value individually, not part of big whole. 

Reshape your comfort zone

What is it about people telling you, your dream niche is out there!? How many people do you know who regularly stop what their doing just long enough to reframe things? Maybe far fewer than could benefit from such a process.  If reviewing your life, validating it, and finding reasons for self respect are part of your past, what may have changed all that? The opposite feelings.  If you feel locked inside an unchanging reality or, crave new sources of stimulation, consider these ideas:

1) Rekindle your childhood or adolescence.  When you were younger, you spoke about things ou hoped to do.  You may have written a diary or journal. Refer back to your writing and possibly also friends from this point of your life.  Jog your memory and jumpstart your soul journey.

2) Step back from your latest routine.  If you don't have a particular project in mind to tackle just yet, it would be useful to integrate change into regular routines.  Take time to brainstorm and test out new things.  Attend a local club meeting as a guest or a trial with no obligations.  Feeling the waters implies a willingness to admit what you do now is no longer working.  Your options branch from there.

3) Bridge the gap.Your next venture or creative pursuit can bridge your personal and professional interests if this appeals to you.  You could initiate a group undertaking at the office after hours or find a common interest among friends and launch a shared venture. 

4) Think and live outside-the-box.  What society tells you makes sense won't necessarily be the same thing that makes sense to you.  Its okay to make choices that are uncommon or don't seem to jive with the status quo.  There's no reason you can't combine seemingingly incompatible roles or pursuits.  After all, you're the only person who really defines what's right for you as you are at this moment.

5) Retire dead-end chapters. We all have them: periods of our lives which cease to appeal or motivate us.  We may outgrow activities, relationships, goals and feel reluctant to give them up out of habit.  The idea of admitting a style, behavior or mindset no longer suits you simply means its time to adopt something new.  This process can be part of a healthy life phase transition.  Shed that old skin.  Molt.

6) Embrace uncertainty.  Evolve to make changes that enable you to feel good about yourself.  You will never be able to predict everything, but you can prepare yourself for the positive things awaiting you around the corner.  To choose to explore interests indicates you're ready to grow.

7) Tap into your skills & talents. People rarely feel they use all their talents and skills.  How well-acquainted are you with your own?  What have you been postponing that you could offer as a gift to others? Learning to tap into underused or undiscovered talents can transform your life.  This is also an opportunity to get-to-know yourself better. How you have evolved in your life until now?

Value your flaws

Although each experience may take a certain toll, each moment is also another opportunity to become better acquainted with your flaws.  Do you fidget in your chair just thinking about it? Or, are you anxious about the opportunity to learn to do the best you can with all that you are?  Some people struggle to identify personal flaws and other people can't detach themselves from them.

Its possible you sense one of your flaws could be chronic restlessness.  You know, the kind that makes it difficult to appreciate where you are when you're there because your mind is already focused on where you're heading.  What about those blessing staring right at you in the face?  This flaw may be characteristic of many people in modern places.  Perhaps part of you seeks to make up for a relative's mistakes or, to live up to someone else's expectations? What did they teach you about flaws?

At some point, its within your reach to attain self-acceptance. This entails not only getting-to-know your traits, strengths and weaknesses, but also coming to recognize your limits and ultimately, your mortality.  The idea of valuing your flaws doesn't suggest you should ignore or disregad them.  Yet, it doesn't invite you to dwell on them incessantly or self-criticize either.  What does it entail to you now?

The whole notion of valuing your flaws is like an invitation to get-to-know pitfalls so you don't fall into them or, at least don't fall into the same ones repeatedly.  Why would it be desirable not to become too hungry to please? Too complacent to notice details? Too fearful to take chances that would lead to meaningful experiences?  Each perceived flaw is an opportunity to learn and share wisdom.  What have you done and why? Keeping a journal will help track 'the good, bad and the ugly'.   

Joy is found in hurdles

Okay, so you have a job in mind or a career goal that motivates you.  That's great! Now, what are you doing about getting closer to that mark? What kinds of lessons have you learned that you would like to pass onto others going through their own professional transitions?

1) Prioritize preparation.  What do you know about this job you aim for? Have you taken time to read about it?  Would you be willing to contact people who have lived in the shoes you would like to wear?  If you don't feel you already know as much as you need, seek out people you trust.  If you feel you know enough, seek out people who would question your confidence to test you.

2) Promote perseverence.  Your heart and soul will let you know where you belong.  How do you react to discouragement? What would you respond to critics or naysayers? As you're gaining insight into the reasons for your inner drive, you will find you effectively encourage yourself.  Speculate about how you think and what kind of impact this can have on getting over hurdles. 

3) Reframe alternatives.  Just because you don't land your dream job right away, doesn't mean your alternative choices won't help you get there.  How could you get involved in the specific organization or company of interest to get your feet in the door?  What are the benefits of learning the ropes on the inside, even as an intern or volunteer for a special event?  Never underestimate the power of biding your time.  Hurdles promote resourcefulness and ingenuity.

4) Seek complementarity.  If ever you have input into who will be working with you, request people who complement your weaknesses.  Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses is a real asset.  Self-growth comes from improving youself, remaining humble and willing to learn.

5) Ask hard questions.  If you're really poised for action, you won't be phased by sacrifices required to work toward the job or career you want.  Perhaps its a promotion you have in mind? Long hours of work shouldn't seem like too much in light of the foreseeable reward.  How far are you willing to push your limits?  Schedules don't always pan out as anticipated. Could you handle the responsibility you set yourself up for? Will you create your own kind of work priorities?  As you answer such questions, you'll more likely maximize opportunities and live as you want. 

Give it all up

Whenever you feel you struggle with relationships, you may forget struggle begins in your mind.  If you focus on what other people don't have or experience, and you reflect back on what you have not yet had or experienced, this focuses your mind on a void.  Would you believe you deserve what you're about to receive from life and the people you invite into your life?

Consider what would happen if you chose to give up the negative feelings and perceptions of people.  How might this affect your relationships?  If you have discovered you have dishonest friends, will they succeed in destroying your confidence in yourself and what is yet to be? If people you know have behaved treacherously toward you, this doesn't mean you need follow.

Perhaps it would be wise to detach yourself from results of relationship-building efforts.  Other ways exist to feel connected.  Resist from criticizing yourself for what you might've done but didn't. No person always does the wrong thing. No person is unable to change.  No person should tell himself he'll get everything he deserves or wish an enemy should get his come- uppance.  What is acceptable changes based on what you learn.  Karma will recify what you give up. Redefine your real needs.