Eckhart Tolle

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Eckhart Tolle
Born February 16, 1948 (1948-02-16) (age 61)
Dortmund, Germany
Occupation Author, motivational speaker
Nationality German
Genres Spirituality, Psychology
Literary movement New Age
Notable work(s) The Power of Now (1997)
A New Earth (2005)
Official website

Eckhart Tolle IPA: [ɛkhɑ:ʀt tɔ:lə] (born February 16, 1948) is a German/ Canadian spiritual teacher, motivational speaker, and writer.[1]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Born Ulrich Leonard Tolle in Lünen, near Dortmund, Germany, Eckhart Tolle lived with his father in Spain from about the age of 13 to 19, approximately between the years 1961 and 1967, after which he moved to the UK.[1] He had no formal education between the ages of 13 and 22, refusing to go to school because of its "hostile environment"; but he pursued his own "particular interests."[1]

Tolle graduated from the University of London and entered, but did not complete, a doctoral program at Cambridge University,[2] having studied literature, languages and philosophy.[1] At the age of 29, Tolle experienced what he calls an "inner transformation," after suffering long periods of suicidal[3] depression.[2]

Since 1996, he has lived in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[4][5]

[edit] Teachings

Tolle's non-fiction bestseller The Power of Now emphasizes not being caught up in thoughts of past and future as a way of being aware of the present moment. His later book A New Earth further explores the structure of the human ego and how this acts to distract people from their present experience of the world. He asserts that it is the feeding of the human ego that is thought to be the source of inner and outer conflict, and that only by examining the ego may people begin to see beyond it and obtain a sense of spiritual enlightening or a new outlook on reality.

[edit] Influences

At about the age of fifteen he received five books that were written by a German mystic, Joseph Anton Schneiderfranken, also known as Bô Yin Râ. Tolle responded "very deeply" to those books.[1] He said the first texts with which he came in contact after the awakening and in which he found deep understanding were the New Testament, the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching and teachings of The Buddha.[1] In The Power of Now, he mentioned the writings of Meister Eckhart, Advaita Vedanta, A Course in Miracles, the Bible, mystical Islam, Sufism, and Rumi's poetry, as well as Zen Buddhism's Lin-chi (Linji in pinyin ) (Rinzai) school. In the book Dialogues with Emerging Spiritual Teachers by John W. Parker, he has acknowledged a strong connection to J Krishnamurti and Ramana Maharshi and stated that his teaching is a coming together of the teachings of both those teachers, and it is a continuation of that. In addition, he states that by listening to and speaking with the spiritual teacher Barry Long, he understood things more deeply.[6]

[edit] Reception

A quote by Eckhart Tolle, on a park bench plaque, facing Sacramento River, Redding CA.

The first of his four books was The Power of Now, a #1 New York Times best-seller that has been translated into over 33 languages.[2] He has also recorded numerous audio interviews and a video. American talk-show host Oprah Winfrey considers The Power of Now to be one of her favorite books.[7] Tolle's most recent book, A New Earth, also topped the Times chart in March, 2008.[8]

In January 2008, Winfrey selected A New Earth as her Oprah's Book Club selection, accompanied by a 10-week live online seminar (or "webinar") with Tolle, which started on March 3, 2008.[2][9][10] this event was a result of Tolle's three appearances in November 2007 on Oprah's Soul Series, Winfrey's weekly radio program on her own channel, Oprah & Friends, on XM Satellite Radio [11][12].

[edit] Business Organization

Tolle's for-profit company sells a wide variety of spirtual development materials via his website.[13] In a 2003 interview with the Telegraph Magazine, Eckhart Tolle indicated that he has no intention to create "a heavy commercial structure" or to set up an ashram or centre, but has left open the possibility that "it could develop organically".[14]

[edit] Works

[edit] Books

[edit] Audio Books

  • What is Meditation?
  • Practicing the Power of Now
  • Companion to the Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, June 2001
  • Living the Liberated Life and Dealing With the Pain Body, October 2001
  • The Realization of Being: A Guide to Experiencing Your True Identity, October 2001
  • Know That "I Am", January 1, 2002
  • Even the Sun Will Die: An Interview With Eckhart Tolle, September 2001
  • The Eckhart Tolle Audio Collection, September 2002
  • The Essence of Now, 2002
  • Choose to Awaken Now, 2002
  • In the Presence of a Great Mystery, 2002
  • Realizing the Power of Now: An In-Depth Retreat With Eckhart Tolle, June 2003
  • Entering the Now, August 2003
  • Gateways to Now, September 1, 2003
  • Whispers, January 1, 2004
  • The Flowering of Human Consciousness, May 2004
  • Living a Life of Inner Peace, October 10, 2004
  • Practicing Presence: A Guide for the Spiritual Teacher and Health Practitioner, November 1, 2004
  • Eckhart Tolle's Findhorn Retreat: Stillness Amidst the World, October 10, 2005
  • Through the Open Door: Journey to the Vastness of Your True Being, January 30, 2006

[edit] DVDs

  • The Flowering of Human Consciousness: Everyone's Life Purpose, Namaste Publishing, Inc., 2001 ISBN 1-59179-154-5
  • "Eckhart Tolle's Findhorn Retreat- Stillness Amidst The World" New World Library, ISBN-10:1-57731-509-x,

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Dialogues With Emerging Spiritual Teachers, by John W. Parker Sagewood Press, 2000.
  2. ^ a b c d Eckhart Tolle Biography New York Times, Times Topics, March 5, 2008.
  3. ^ [http://www.wie.org/j18/tolle.asp Ripples on the Surface of Being, What is Enlightenment.
  4. ^ Spreading the Change The Vancouver Sun, February 2, 2008.
  5. ^ "Eckhart Biography". http://www.eckharttolle.com/eckhart_biography. Retrieved on 2008-01-10. 
  6. ^ "Eckhart Tolle Interview". http://www.inner-growth.info/power_of_now_tolle/eckhart_tolle_interview_parker.htm. Retrieved on 2008-03-07. 
  7. ^ Oprah's Favourite Books
  8. ^ Best Sellers New York Times, March 2008.
  9. ^ Oprah Winfrey has made A New Earth.. New York Times, January 31, 2008.
  10. ^ Tolle's 'Earth www.usatoday.com, March 2008.
  11. ^ Are You Ready to be Awakened? Oprah Winfrey Show.
  12. ^ Oprah brings Tolle's 'Earth' to the classroom USA Today, February 3, 2008.
  13. ^ [1]
  14. ^ "Why now is bliss". http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/28/1064687666674.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-21. 

[edit] External links

Sister project Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Eckhart Tolle
Persondata
NAME Tolle, Eckhart
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION German Author
DATE OF BIRTH 1948-02-16
PLACE OF BIRTH Dortmund, Germany
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eckhart_Tolle"
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