Eckhart Tolle: “A New Earth” | Oprah’s Book Club

[music]. We're going to have a great show, you. and I. Here comes the man, y'all. The man, [applause]. [music] Mr. Chole. [cheering]. [music]. [cheering]. Did you see it? [applause] We're in a. coffee house having coffee with Eart, I'm telling you. Hi, everybody. I am so.

excited to welcome you to Oprah's Book. Club presented by Starbucks. It's so. good to be here at the Starbucks inside. the Empire State Building right in the. center of Manhattan. So, hello to all of. you who are listening on the podcast or. watching us on my YouTube channel. We. join forces with Starbucks to bring. three of what I think are some of the. best things in life, books, coffee, and. conversation all together in one place. And Starbucks paired this month's book. club selection with a strong cortado.

And so enjoy yours. Okay, let's have a. toast to you. Toast to you. Thank you. I. also really appreciate the idea of. meeting a friend for coffee. with a book. Don't you like that idea? Especially if you get to talk about this. book. After 109 book club selections, I. have never chosen the same book twice. until now. Echarolei's a new earth.

awakening to your life's purpose. As one. of the great spiritual teachers of our. time, even one conscious breath is a. [music] mini meditation. I believe Echart's work has never been. more relevant or needed [music] as it is. today. Deep within you, there is a silent. power. over the years. Right [music]. now, you all are online with me from. every corner on our planet. I've always. been eager to share a new Earth. This is.

my own freed copy of the book. This year. marks the 20th anniversary of the. [music] book. It's been translated into. 50 languages and sold more than 15. million copies. On this podcast, we're. taking a deep dive into some of Echart's. key concepts like recognizing the ego. [music] And so to note your own ego is. already an awakening. How to stay in the present moment. The beginning of present moment. awareness is to be aware of your sensory. perceptions.

And we'll hear from readers. I was blown away when I read your book. about how Echart's teachings have. transformed their lives. It was absolutely my aha moment and it. just felt very freeing and it gave me a. lot of hope. So I want to just say that. 16 years ago I read this book around. 2007 and I really was changed by the. book A New Earth. I would have to say. that this book has probably had more.

effect on my life than any other book. I've read by a living author. Okay. So. that excludes the Bible. So, but but by a living author, I would. say this book has had the most impact on. my life. And I thought I was having a. pretty good life. And my life. experience, my experience of myself as a. human being, as a being on the planet, my ability to separate my thoughts from. myself and to realize that I am the.

awareness disguised as a person. my. ability to understand what he says on. page 41 that life will give you exactly. the experience you need for the. evolution of your consciousness. And how. do you know that? Because that's the. experience you are having right now. My. ability to accept that, my ability to. recognize that all stress is wanting the. moment you're in to be something else. and that you are causing most of your. suffering because you can't accept the.

present moment for what it is. I mean, it changed me and changed me and changed. me and changed me. I thought I knew what. ego was until chapters two and three of. this book. It changed [music] me and changed me and. changed me. It uplifted my life and. enhanced it in ways that I cannot even. describe. And I will tell you, it's the. one book that is constantly by my. nightstand. So I have the Bible there, I.

have Mary Oliver's poems there, and I. have Echarolei's A New Earth there. consistently all the time. And every. couple of years, I go back and I reread. the entire book. And I was thinking. about where we are in the world right. now. And what our consciousness really. needs is uh a little enhancement, I. thought. And I thought there's no book. that's had more influence or power in my. opinion to change the way you think.

about yourself and the way you think. about the world than a new earth. And. this just happens to be uh I think the. 20th edition of it. And I will also say. this over the years I have met multiple. multiple multiple multiple spiritual. teachers, spiritual thinkers, uh voices. of our time and I will have to say no. person have I met that had absolutely no. ego other than this man. This man is a.

walking example of walking the walk. Echarolei, welcome. Thank you. Thank you. [applause]. And so. I ran it back in 2007208. we did a 10-p part series on every. chapter. And at the time we were just. beginning to Skype. Can you all remember. those days? We're just beginning to. Skype. So the very first sessions every. time we were together at we go, can you. believe we're seeing people? I can see.

you. Can you see me? And now it sounds. like you know that was ancient times. ancient times. So, let's start with a. basic uh a new earth 101 for those. watching and listening who've not read. the book yet. How do you explain the. core message of a new earth? Well, first the the general context is. that. humanity or human beings are not a. finished product. They are evolving and.

uh the ladder context for it is the. evolution of consciousness in human. beings and we are all part of that. evolution of consciousness and so the. subtitle is awakening to your life. purpose and life purpose is twofold. One is the personal purpose. Whatever. you are called upon to do in this. lifetime, outer activities, your job, whatever it is you do, that is your.

outer purpose. There is a more important. underlying deeper purpose that needs to. flow into whatever you do in your outer. life. And that deeper purpose is to. become a more conscious human being. to. embody the evolution of consciousness, the flowering of consciousness and. that's to do with diminishment of the. ego to discover within yourself that. which uh continuously. prevents you from evolving that. So it's.

about we are here to evolve more. consciously as conscious beings and the. purpose is to work towards diminishing. that thing we call the ego. One of. Echart's core teachings is that we are. not our thoughts. I know that's a. challenging concept. Echart says [music]. the compulsive thinking that plagues. most people is a form of addiction. One. of the most pervasive on the planet.

[music] It fuels our ego. Thinking. separates us from our true self or the. transcendent as Echart calls it. He says. the only way to reach this deeper. dimension is through the practice of. presence. Now I will tell you all really funny. story. When I first had this. conversation with Echart, I remember. saying to you, I really think I have my. ego pretty much under control. Okay. So. the very next day, I had a doctor's. appointment to get a mammogram. And. normally because I am a known person, I.

am brought around the back of the. doctor's office and I'm taken in the. back and I don't have to wait in a line. and I don't have to sit and so on this. particular day I am brought to the front. and everybody's sitting there in the. waiting room and I think oh well this is. a nice experience. Okay. So I thought well let me just. enjoy the moment the present moment. So. I start talking to people. Oh, what are. you reading? And so um the appointment.

was at 11:00 and about 11:20 I remember. getting up and calling my assistant. Libby and I said, "Libby, what is going on here? I am at the. doctor's office to get the mamogram. What is going on?" And she said, "Oh, don't worry. What they're going to do, they're going to take you in the back. and then they're going to put like an. apron on you and then you're going to. have to take off your top." I said, "Let. me I know what a mamogram is. I want to know why am I in the waiting.

room." [laughter]. And then it right in the middle of that. went I think that's my ego. [laughter]. I think it's my ego. It's my ego that. felt like why am I waiting when I've. never had to wait? And it was shown to. me the exact next day after I told you. how it was all in control. So, so did. you discover the ear in the moment that. you were speaking or just afterwards or. was it right in.

the middle of me saying I know what a. mamogram is? I thought, "Oh, oh, there she is. There's the ego.". That's the thing that you thought you. had under control. Yeah. But that's a good sign because to. to discover the ego in the moment it. arises requires already a fairly high. degree of presence. Many people would. only discover the ego maybe hours later. or the next day and then think back. about oh that was the ego.

Uh if you notice the ego in the moment. it arises means you're really quite. present. Yeah. And and to to notice the. ego in oneself the moment it arises is. a gain in consciousness. It doesn't mean. that you failed. It's not not a defeat. It doesn't mean oh I there's the ego. gain. Why am I still stuck in the ego? No. Because presence is there at the.

same time. And. because the awareness that that is what. is happening is what's what helps you. diminish that ego. Yes. Awareness frees you from ego. First, the first thing that awareness. does, it breaks the identification with. the ego. Yes. So people who are ego possessed, they. don't know they have an ego because they. are so identified the ego. It becomes. them. It is the person. Yeah. And so to to know your own ego is. already an awakening. Yes.

Awake. So what is it that awakens the. awareness? So there's a awareness is. consciousness and normally consciousness. is always absorbed by the mind and that. becomes the ego. Awareness is really who you are because. you say in the very beginning of your. book stillness speaks which if you just. want to introduce someone to these. principles I think stillness speaks is a. wonderful way to do that because you. don't have to read it all at one time. They're like little paragraphs that.

bring you in to the space of stillness. And you say on the very first page that. it is the awareness of these words on. the page and that awareness bringing. them into thoughts. You are that. awareness disguised as a person. Yes. That is who you really are. Yes. And if you are not operating from. that space, which most of us can't do. that all the time, you do. I I've seen. you you live your life this way. But.

there are many times where I have to. bring myself back to that. And I will. say that before reading a new earth, I. thought ego meant people who were. arrogant or people who were, you know, always trying to boss other people. around or it meant that you were uh. somebody who thought you were better. than other people. I didn't realize that. every one of us has an ego and it's your. role in life to keep that thing in check.

and to separate and understand your true. self from the ego that is consistently. trying to rule your life. Yes. Well, also uh you don't need to. wait for the challenge to come into your. life. Also discover that awareness at. any moment at this moment as you're. sitting here there is your experience of. this moment sensory experience visual. auditory that's part of the present.

moment and if you want to go deeper into. the present moment that's already a. wonderful thing to become uh aware of. your surroundings rather being totally. absorbed into the stream of mostly. useless thinking. right. uh so you become more acutely aware of. your surroundings and often you find. there's an aliveness around there no. matter where you are in this room. So. you be that's a bit I call it sometimes. the beginning of present moment. awareness is to be aware of your sensory.

perceptions. Oh, and for some people. that's like waking up out of some kind. of dream because they were always. immersed in thinking about past and. future only peripherally aware of the. present moment. But but and and also wanting to be I. remember reading this I think it was. either in uh a new earth or power power. of now that stress is wanting the. present moment to be something other. than what it is. Yes. And that you all relate to that, right?

and that you're stuck in traffic and. you're like stressing about getting to. the D. If you just relax, first of all, if you can't move the traffic, then what. are you stressing about? And if you just. relax into it and accept get to. acceptance of this present moment, it. makes everything flow more easily. Yes. And I have found that that. principle of being able to be in the. present moment, which has now become my. greatest gift to myself, is the best.

offering you can give to yourself and to. and and to anybody else because it means. you accept this moment for what it is. And even if the moment isn't what you. want it to be, you can't begin to change. it until you get to acceptance. Yes, that's the basis for also the basis. for intelligent action or wise action. And I think the key word is wise where. there's wisdom and there's intelligence. Yes, an intelligent person can easily have a. huge ego. So you cannot equate the ego.

and intelligence or often come together. easily. Wisdom is something different. Wisdom arises out of the awareness. moment. So to have to make wise. decisions, the basis for wise decision. is first an acceptance of what is right. now rather than a reaction against what. is an emotional reaction against it. Uh. that prevents you from arriving at a.

wise decision of what to do. But if you. can accept this moment as it is and then. one could say a higher intelligence. begins to operate and that is wisdom. That higher intelligence is wisdom. It. can then operate. accept the moment and then say now what. do I need to do. exactly. that I've accepted it. You get it? You. get the difference? Instead of resisting. the moment. Yes. And I find a lot of people are in. resistance of whatever the moment is. right now in big ways and little ways in.

their life. Yes. Yeah, I also notice sometimes. observe people who run a business and of. course if you run a business. continuously obstacles arise. This is. normal. Every day some kind of obstacle. arises and people who are egoically. possessed they become angry and reactive. and they fight their they immediately. have an angry reaction when an obstacle. arises. But there are some people the. most successful people they immediat. they look at the obstacle instead of. reacting against it. They immediately. see what it is that can be done to.

either circumvent the obstacle or. transform it into something positive. Right? That that you did that direct. attention to the situation and I call it. responding rather than reacting. Yes. Yeah. For me that is the obstacle. shows itself and I immediately say to. the obstacle, what are you here to show. me? What are you here to teach me? Yes. And accept that you're here to show me. something and then try to figure out. what it is you need to do. Yes. Yes, I know Annabelle in our. audience is a first- timer. Annabelle,

tell us about your experience. Hi. I felt like reading this book now. was at the right season of my life. And. knowing that I was going to read it in. community, I wanted to be very present. So, I highlighted and took notes in a. way that I've never done before. I don't. like writing in my books. I want them to. be pristine. I kept a list of all my aha. moments. But I loved writing my notes. and my questions because I feel like. it's going to be a gift to my kids when. they read it. It'll be almost like a.

conversation. Um, and it'll shed light. on what I took away from the book. So, thank you. Right. Very good. Terrific. Director and actor Chris Evans. is an avid reader of Echart's work and. we asked if he wanted to join this book. club conversation. And even though he's. filming a movie on the other side of the. world, uh Chris is zooming from Athens. Whoa, look at you. Hey. Hi, Chris. Well, hello. It's an honor to be here. Thank you for joining us. I have to tell.

you, I thought I was the biggest Echart. person on PL on the planet, but you have. taken it to the next level, I hear. Tell. us about your tattoo. I don't have an Ehart tattoo. Yes, [laughter]. I do not. I I I do have an echo tattoo. It's actually from Stillness Speaks. Um. and of the you know the many lines uh in. his books that have resonated, this one. just felt like a real north star. It was. it was a line that said uh when you lose. touch with inner stillness, you lose.

touch with yourself. When you lose touch. with yourself, you lose yourself in the. world. And you know, I put enormous. emphasis on uh the practice of. stillness, which is basically the. practice of being present. Uh but. but you can't be present unless you're. accepting of the moment, accepting what. is, surrendering to it. You know, I. think I think well, as I'm sure you all. know, most suffering comes from. resisting in in some capacity what is uh.

you know, you're either you either. resist and struggle or or you surrender. and accept and and one of those things. will bring you closer to who you are and. one of those things uh you know, you're. on the risk of losing yourself. completely. Wow. So, why do you think this. particular quote resonated so profoundly. with you, Chris? I think to some degree the industry I'm. in, you hear stories of people yeah. losing themselves but but I think uh.

through the practice of stillness all. those other downstream uh lessons and. practices occur the the act of. recognizing that. you're not the voice in your head. You. know you are just the awareness of it. That that voice that compulsive stream. of uh labeling and comparing that that's. not who you are. That voice wants to. pull you out of the moment. That voice. wants to, you know, analyze the past and. worry about the future. If you follow. that voice too long, you identify with. it and and your suffering will just.

spiral. So that that initial quote that. I have on me forever just felt like a. real foundational building block to this. work. And where is it on you? Right on my chest right there. Okay. [laughter] Okay. I love that. Okay. I love that. And did you have a. question for Echart? Yeah, I I do. I had Well, it was kind of. a two. It's kind of a four-parter, but. I'm going to spare you. Um I I guess my. my question is, you know, you've you've. been doing this for so long.

Do you still have access to your former. suffering? Can you recognize it? And and. do you do you still feel that suffering. the way you did then? Or do you look at. it through different eyes, through a. different lens? Does it does it still. resonate the same way? I I don't feel. the suffering anymore at all. It's it's. like evaporated. I remember it. I. remember for example that in in my. childhood I was mostly unhappy because.

of an unstable family background. I. didn't have a happy childhood. I. remember that. But on a feeling level, I. don't revive it. It's not there anymore. It exhausted itself. it evaporated or it. got burnt up by the presence. I don't. know exactly how to put it but um the. unhappiness has not survived in me. except as a mental memory but not not on. an emotional level. So it's it's gone.

which is good. Isn't that a profound thing to be able. to say the unhappiness has not survived. in me? The seeds of Echart's evolution emerged. from a difficult childhood. Born in. Germany in 1948, Echart's parents. separated [music] when he was a child. He eventually became a distinguished. research [music] scholar at Cambridge. But his burgeoning success failed to. soothe the anxiety and depression. [music]. that dogged him. At age 29, pushed to.

the brink of despair, Echart. contemplated suicide. [music] It's in. this moment of pain, a new awareness was. born. Echart says he experienced a. spiritual transformation so profound his. suffering disappeared. Unhappiness for many people becomes an. intrinsic part of their sense of. identity. Yeah. And so that's also explains why many. people have a resistance. as every therapist knows many people.

have a resistance towards letting go of. their unhappiness. So the the therapist. tries to. because that has become their identity. That's their story. They think [clears throat] they lose. themselves if let go of their. unhappiness. They're not complaining about being. unhappy. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I know. Chris, I was saying to the. audience before and I don't know if you. heard me. Ehart is actually the only. person of the thousands and thousands. and thousands of people I've interviewed. who has no ego, who just I mean who is. who who not only writes about it, but.

actually lives it and walks the walk. And so I'm not surprised that your. unhappiness has not survived in you. [laughter]. Yeah. Yeah. Pretty incredible. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for joining us. on the other side of the world. Thanks. for taking the time to zoom with us. Thank you so much. We love that tattoo. for [clears throat] you. Thank you, Chris Evans. Thank you, [applause]. Michelle. Where are you? You have a. question. Go ahead. Um, just to share.

that I read your book back in uh, I. guess 2007 and it sparked that awareness. in me, but it wasn't until these past. couple years of great trials and. tribulations that the discipline, the. motivation to become more present. to survive very challenging things um, to get relief from great pain and. suffering. Um, so it's it's been an. awakening in me. I I still get lost in.

the in the illusion of my mind, but with great gratitude, it it happens. for shorter and shorter periods of time. And um the gift has been a true. reclaiming of my spirit, that which is unshakable. Thank you. So thank you. I have a comment on that. Um when life. gets challenging. uh a human being can go two ways and.

very often when life gets difficult some. loss obstacle many ways challenge can. present itself uh you can either. become more. identified with the ego and you become. more unhappy you become a very unhappy. human reactive angry resentful. despondent when many many negative. states can arise when you're being. challenged. Uh that is one way you can.

go or the other way you can go and that. usually happens if there's already a. certain amount of presence in you. You've already practiced or you've had. glimpses of presence or even more than. glimpses of presence. When then a. challenge comes, it can easily happen. that the challenge one could almost say. forces you into becoming more present. it and deepens your presence. So um an. example from even from from my life. there's always a presence in my life and.

there's always a presence sometimes it's. in the back when I talk now there's a. presence in the background I can sense. the stillness behind the words and one. could say the words come out of the. stillness and that's even in when I go. about my daily business there's always. do ordinary things there is that sense. of peace in the. you are aware of the awareness. I'm aware of the awareness Yes. And then. two and a half years ago, I went to the. doctor. Another doctor story. You had.

one. Now I have one. [laughter]. Uh I had certain symptoms. Um. intestinal symptoms. Finally had to have. a colonoscopy. After the colonoscopy, the doctor said, "You have cancer.". Oh. And when you hear that usually it I mean. it could mean yes you could have a few. more years. It could also mean you only. have 6 months or 12 months. You when you. hear that that's so I was a little.

shocked. So the person was shocked. and. immediately. um I noticed an enormous intensification. of presence. as if somebody had turned up the dimmer. switch and the um on a practical level. uh 10 days after the diagnosis I had an. operation. Mh. But in those 10 days uh I spent.

hours and hours in intense presence. usually presence in the background and. this occasions came into the foreground. So I would sit in my room just no. thought in my head at all just an. enormous amount of awareness just filled. with awareness I could feel the cells of. the body filling with awareness and I. believe that was a kind of self-healing. also and I had the operation and they. took section out of my colon. and then after the operation another.

scan and said fine it hasn't spread. anywhere and I continued with the. wonderful Princeton practice because. presence is also extremely healing. So I. gave that as an example for when you're. really challenged and you're already. familiar what presence is then you will. find that you become through the. challenge you become more present. Um,

so it it it deepens you at any challenge. then deepens you to rather than the. challenge making you more unconscious. I think this is really hard. What you're. saying is you are really ET. Your. initials are ET and you are like ET. [laughter]. sitting here in the chair. cuz I don't know nobody else who could. do that. you know, you you you you hear. that you get the cancer diagnosis and. you go, "Oh, oh, I think my presence is.

going to come forward." You know, that's. really really. challenging for most of us in the world. Yes. Yeah. And that's just because you stay in that. space. It's always there. You are always aware that you are aware. Yes. Yes. And you are always aware even. when you're speaking to us right now and. having this conversation that what. you're saying that your thoughts are not. you. not losing oneself in this thought.

stream even when one speaks you can. often see when you observe people having. a conversation or discussion they easily. they they lose themselves in their. thought stream. Yeah. The when the emotion comes in, the. moment you identify with the thought. very very quickly an emotion will come. in also and and then you start arguing. when you have conversations with your. family. Do you lose yourself in your. mental positions and then then the other. mental position becomes to you an enemy.

So that's is very important to practice. presence when you meet your family. members and they may have different. opinions on your different mental. positions. Can you allow them their. mental position? And don't equate their. mental position with who who or what. they truly are. There's a being. underneath their mental position. They. are not their mental position. That's. just the ego. So then you can sometimes. you can be compassionate towards their. mental position and allow them to have. their you don't need to put them right.

and say no, you're wrong. The moment you. get into right and wrong argument, your. ego is back. The ego loves proving other. people wrong. So, of course, you need to be right. Being right is one of the great things. that the ego strives for. That's right. And so, I think in one of. the books, you talk about uh do you want. to be right or do you want peace? Yeah. Yeah. That was a another huge lesson for. me. Do you want to be right or do you.

want to have peace? And I didn't realize. in all those years when I like, well, I. know I'm right. I know I'm right. I am. right. I even had a t-shirt that says I. know I'm right. Uh that that that is. that's an egoic move, you know. I. thought it's just like I know I'm right. So. yes. Yes. Even if I mean sometimes you. do know that you're right because there. are certain facts, some facts you cannot. and some people may deny certain facts. uh and you know very well that you are. right and they are not. And yet you can.

state your belief or your position. You. can say well let's say how long does it. take for the light from the moon to. reach the earth and this person says oh. it takes 10 minutes and you say no I. know it takes an. one and a half seconds okay you happen. to be right but then allow that person. to have their opinion instead of. beginning to argue. your need to prove that you're right is. your ego that's the ego needing to you.

yes. and how other ways does the ego show up. because we we wanted to establish lish. that from the beginning like the. difference between you and your ego is. the question is how do you how do you. recognize the ego in you when it arises? It's usually it's not a pleasant place. to be. The ego is usually recognized as. ultimately dysfunctional in yourself. So. any negative emotion that arises tends. to be part of the ego. It starts with.

irritation. It's a relatively minor. negative emotion can easily be become. amplified and evolve into something. bigger. But let's start with simple. irritation. If you can if you're able to. observe an irritation in yourself, uh. you can observe how does it arise? And. you may find if you and this this. investigation, how does it arise already. requires some awareness. Yes. And so, and then you might notice. that the irritation arises because. there's a thought in your head that says.

something about whatever it is that. you're irritated about. You were sitting. in the waiting room in the doctor's. office. So, most probably your mind was. saying beginning to speak to you saying. this is awful. Why were they totally. ignoring me? Don't they know who I am? Yeah. So that and then you if awareness. comes in at that moment you can observe. that what your mind is saying. creates the irritation. what your mind is saying is creating the.

situation, not the situation. Right? And if you can discover that, that's an enormous discovery. And I. sometimes recommend you should ask. yourself, how would I experience this. situation if I did not add any thought. to it, if I just accepted it for what it. is, the bare isness of this? And then. you're sitting in the waiting room to go. back to the example. Yeah. And you're just looking, breathing, observing. What are you reading? Okay, [laughter] good.

Yeah. So, and so the discovery that in. same thing with sitting in traffic. People get so crazy sitting in traffic. Yes. How would I experience this moment. if I didn't add any thought to it? It's. just presence. You're present with what. is and and that's also that is how the. ego shrinks and shrinks and shrinks as. you practice that. Echart says as we grow spiritually the. ego becomes less reactive. When we. encounter obstacles or difficult people, we face them consciously. The ego.

believes fighting back is power. But. Echart says [music] the opposite is. actually true. Authentic power comes. when we surrender. [music]. And as he writes, love the isness of the. present moment. Okay. Denise S, where are you? I heard. you you gave this to your adult children. for Christmas. Oh, yes. Three are going under the tree. You had an awakening about the ego also. I believe so. Yes. Um I was blown away.

when I read your book because I had been. on a search for years, five years. digging and I felt defeated and so I. read your book and on page 193 it says. knowing about yourself is not who you. are. And at that moment I thought I lived in. my identity my whole life. Yeah. Every you know coming from divorced. parents, narcissistic.

influences and mother and the minute I. read that chapter I slept like a baby. and I haven't thought about that since. Would you say that's an awakening? Oh yes, definitely. Definitely. Yay. [applause]. Pretty good. Thank you. Thank you for your work. That's a wonderful awakening. Yeah, that's a big one. That's big. That's a big aha that opens the door to.

many other ahas. It's fantastic. One of the most important uh teachings. from ancient Greece is the dictim know. thyself from ancient Greece. um that was. inscribed in the temple of Apollo at. Delelfi, the famous place carved into. the walls of the temple. Know thyself. Yeah. Uh so and it doesn't mean at the deepest. level it's not knowing about yourself, the stories of your life, the story of. your life. There's a place for that too.

If you go to a psychoanalyst, psychoanalyst will bring up all kinds of. hidden memories and so that might have. limited usefulness. But eventually you. have to go beyond that and go to deeper. Your yourself is the awareness. Your. true self is not whatever arises in the. awareness. Your true self is the. awareness itself. And the recognition of. that in yourself is also stillness. That. recognition of the awareness in yourself.

is also stillness. And whenever you. accept this moment as it is, that portal. opens up because that acceptance of what. it is brings you to the state of inner. peace and that's the that's how it. works. So the pract the practice then. should be this continuous endeavoring to. work with the present moment. I. sometimes say yes to the present moment. Say yes to your experience of this.

moment. Whatever is your experience at. this moment, accept it because it. already is. If action is called for, that's fine. Then the acceptance becomes. the basis for action. So that is to to. find yourself you need to let go of the. that continuous resistance that is. inseparable from the ego that continues. When you let go of resistance, the ego. begins to shrink. The ego needs. fighting. The ego needs enemies. Enemies. in the not necessarily but also in the.

form of other people. Enemies in the. form of other groups of people, political groups or whatever it may be. But it also needs enemies in the form of. even situations in which you can find. yourself and you don't like the. situation. So you make the situation. into an enemy or something that you have. to do. You're doing it but you don't. really want to be doing it. You're doing. it reluctantly. So you make the doing. into also into a kind of enemy. So. whenever you're doing something also to.

give your fullest attention and not. doing with some hidden resentment that's. also very dysfunctional state. Yeah. And that also strengthens the ego. It's. al these are all aspects of ego. So it. requires a lot of inner vigilance. That's all the and your your your main. purpose in life is to to have that inner. vigilance. is to have inner peace. Yeah. Yeah. And it's it's the thing that I ask. myself. all the time before making any decisions.

is is this my ego or am I doing this. from the state of real awareness? What. is the reason? What is the real. intention behind it? Because if it is an. egoled decision is going to get me in. trouble or I'm going to end up being. resentful or I'm going to end up being. upset with myself or someone else. And I. think being upset with yourself is. actually worse than being upset with. other people. So I'm constantly asking. that question of myself for almost. everything that I do is like is this an. ego move or is this coming from my pure.

self? That's a wonderful question. Yeah. But. at other times the the ego can also. arise so suddenly and spontaneously that. you don't have time to ask yourself. before is this suddenly is there. Uh and. and then the you can you can recognize. in that moment or just after that. moment. Ah there it is. There it is. Yeah. Grace is uh 26 years old and here. with her mother and I heard you wrote a. note in your book. What is it?

Yes. So my aha moment came fairly early. into reading the book and it is when you. explain that we are not our thoughts. we. are that space before the thoughts. And. that really floored me so much that I I. needed to take a pause and I just kind. of sat with it for a second and then I. really wanted to visualize it. So I. wrote in my book you and I underlined it. and I left a space in between and then I. put thought and underlined it. And that.

might sound simple but I really just. needed to actually see that physical. space between the two things. Um, for. me, I've spent a lot of my life. struggling with anxiety and depression. I've been through a lot of therapy. And reading that gave me pause because I. had just accepted that. over intellectualizing, overanalyzing my. thoughts, that's just been my normal for. quite for most of my life. And this made.

me realize that that might not actually. have to be the rest of my life. And it felt I love that so much. [applause]. That's good. That's a big aha. It was absolutely my aha moment and it. just felt very freeing and it gave me a. lot of hope and I want to thank you for. that. And my question is. what does that space I guess mean to. you? that space before the thoughts. And.

also, how do we protect it when we're so. socialized to constantly attach to our. thoughts or to solely identify with our. thoughts? How do you protect that space. before the thoughts? The how do we. protect our eye? Yes, the wonderful question and a. wonderful insight you had. It's just. amazing. Really good. So yes, protecting it. because this world will always challenge. you with continuous continuous noise, continuous mental clutter,

especially since we have invented all. these devices that can amplify the. mental clutter that was already there. Before I go more deeply into your. question, a little thing, you know, people always send text messages and. then you have to look and and so what. message comes in? What's going on? I I. sometimes send I haven't done it in a. while, but I'll do it again soon. I. sometimes send people a space message. I. send them it's brackets,

an empty space, and another bracket. And. so they get a message of one bracket. Another bracket no words. And people who. know they know that if they get that. from me they know ah it's a space inner. space. Okay ET go ahead. [laughter]. I I'll send you one soon. Okay. Good. I'm sure you. but you're fine. You don't need it. But.

[laughter]. um so that space is extremely important. So how do you protect it? Well, you you. protect it by uh as much as possible. being aware of that space. to be aware. of that space. Um, a little help. somebody can do is don't underestimate. the importance of breathing, conscious. breathing. Not necessarily as a. structured practice, but simply no. matter where you find yourself.

Um, there isn't anything in particular. to do. Maybe you're waiting for. something or whatever. Be aware of your. breathing. Take attention. Observe the. breath as it rolls in and out of the. body. The moment you start observing the. breath, the mental clutter stops and you. there's a spaciousness there. It creates. spaciousness. It takes attention away. from the stream of thinking because you. you cannot both think and be aware of.

your breath. That's even so even now you. can verify that in your own experience. Be aware of the breath as you're. breathing. Now. and while you're aware of the breath. going in and out in that moment you're. not thinking there's an inner. spaciousness that arises you can use. because the breath is always there but. most we are not conscious of it mostly. and then the breath also puts you in. touch with the inner what I call the. inner body feeling.

Yeah. to to feel the the energy in your. body to especially if you feel into the. abdomen you breathe into the into the. belly region and then you feel that. there's an energy here which the. Japanese in Zen called har this is the. the energy that that is here. and you feel an an energy that lives in. you that's the animating presence the. intelligence that inhabits the body and. then you if you feel it here you can.

also feel it spread out into the other. part into your legs and arms and and. then you you begin to be aware of of the. the animating presence in your body and. that that is spacious takes you out of. the mental clutter. One of Echart's renowned practices is. what he calls inner body awareness. meditation. He says when we focus on our. breath [music] and the aliveness in. every cell, we free ourselves from the. grip of the ego. Our compulsive thinking.

[music] recedes and with it go our. fears, resentments and negativity over. time. Echart says breathing and inner. body awareness lead directly to alert. stillness and inner peace. So breathing, breath awareness and. leading to inner body awareness. And. then you can be somewhere you're in. traffic uh for a moment before you were. irritated and suddenly you remember.

spaciousness. breathing inner body awareness. I I love that process. I also anytime. you're having a conversation or having a. thought and you are aware of the thought. like you can hear yourself speaking and. you are aware that you're having that. thought remembering that you are the. awareness you are not the thought you. are the awareness disguised as a person. you are not the thought and the thoughts.

that you're thinking are very separate. are separate from your awareness of the. thoughts where is the big yo u resides. The big I am. That's where the real I am. resides. Y'all are you following? You. know what we're talking about? I know. y'all do over here. Y'all are like. [laughter]. Yes. Yes. Yes. Echart says most people. carry within them an accumulation of. prior emotional pain. What he calls the. pain body. It can be unresolved stress,

negativity, or fear that impacts a sense. of well-being and is a source of. suffering for many. Echart [music]. explains, "Once we recognize the pain. body for what it is, we are held hostage. no more. Awareness [music]. is the first step toward freedom. Our. discomfort becomes so great, we take. action to alleviate it." Echart. explains, "The pain body may seem like a. huge obstacle. [music] However, it also. can be a powerful catalyst to awaken.

Let's get to somebody on this side. The. difference between your thoughts and the. awareness of the thoughts. Who wants to. speak to that on this side? Hi. You know, I was thinking just when. you said that about the parentto- child. uh relationship, the pain body right. before I was born, my parents lost a. child. Yeah. And to say that defined who I was. for. decades, you know, is is putting it lightly. And.

when I, you know, let that thought go. that I didn't replace someone. I am not. here just to fill a void. It really started to help me learn, oh, I'm a person. I'm an individual. I exist. for a reason. And uh. you know the the pain that my parents. went through. was so passed down to me.

Yeah. It was in my mom when she was suffering. And I think, you know, I just think. about the power of that thought that I. replaced someone and I wasn't meant to. exist when I, you know, I read the book. in college in 2005 or six. because I was so confused. I was so. lost. I was so sad. And I think back to. those times and I'm like, I can't even. recognize that person.

until my early 30s where I finally it. all clicked. Like you said, it stays by. my bed. Yeah. And I read it all the time because it. makes me feel less alone. This room. makes me feel less alone to know that I. matter and I'm here for a reason and. it's not just this thought in my head. Right. I hear exactly what you're. saying. But that would color your whole. life cuz it's the way your parents would. treat you, the talking about the loss.

that they had and that would color the. way you were raised and the way you're. born and the way you saw yourself. And. then to reach a point, first of all, I. want to cry cuz we celebrate the fact. that you reached the point that you. realize that you're being here is. because you matter and not because you. were here to replace somebody else. Well, another comment on this the Yeah. Yes. It's one can easily inherit. a painful sense of identity. Every human. is born into a particular situation, the.

environment, parental environment, cultural environment. that humans can. easily be born into an environment that. gives them a painful sense of identity. It can be individual identity as in your. case. It can also be a a painful. collective identity if you're born into. a group of people that um in. enslaved. Yes. For example, and then you have a.

you're born with a painful sense of. identity. And uh again it's important. the ego does not want to free itself. from that because that is its identity. The ego loves that and the pain body. really loves it. and that becomes the danger for. consider yourself as a victim. There's no denying that that there were. and are people who are victims of other. people. There's no denying that.

However, the danger is when you. recognize that there's a you you were a. victim or or even your ancestors were. victims. That's you inherit can inherit. that. The important thing is to go be. you know beyond having a victim identity. which means you seek your sense of self. in having been a victim. The ego loves. that too. the the ego will cling to that. because then the ego. seeks.

always superiority. Now you might want. to ask well how is the ego superior if. it has a victim identity? Well the. reason is superior when it has a victim. identity. The implication is that other. people who do not have the victim. identity, you are morally superior to. those who are not victims or who who are. regarded as perpetrators immediately to. be a victim puts you into an imagined.

moral superiority to what that's the ego. loves that obviously. So the or needs to. differentiate between recognizing. certain facts that happened. The ego loves to think I'm better than. them. Yes. No matter they are and the ego. loves to other. it seeks some way of doing it. If you can't be the great victor then. you can be a great victim. Yeah. Yeah. We had so much more to talk about. We're. going to continue with another episode. So I hope you'll join me for part two.

with Echartole and a new earth. Thank. you Echarolei. Thank you for the gift. that is a new earth. Thank you to our. extraordinary partner Starbucks for. supporting us here. I hope this episode. actually inspires you to read a new. earth and uh talk about it with a. friend, maybe over a cup of Starbucks. And thank you for listening and. watching. We hope you all join our. community and become a part of all of. our conversations on the Oprah podcast. Subscribe to the show on YouTube and.

follow us on Spotify and Apple Podcast. or wherever you listen. Everybody, a new. Earth. Thanks. [applause].