What Does It Feel Like to Awaken Spiritually? | Eckhart Tolle

Summary

The speaker explores the concept of spiritual awakening, highlighting how the constant stream of thoughts in the mind can obscure a deeper consciousness, referred to as spaciousness or presence. Through moments of pure awareness—such as experiencing nature's beauty or looking into a baby's eyes—people can briefly access this higher consciousness. These flashes of awareness offer peace and liberation from the mental clutter, even if momentarily. The speaker emphasizes that true spiritual awakening involves recognizing the gap between thought and presence, leading to a heightened sense of aliveness and connectedness.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Realizing the continuous stream of commentary in our minds is the beginning of spiritual awakening.
• 🗣 Recognizing the voice in the head is different from thinking; it's an awareness or presence.
• 🌟 Awareness or presence is the higher consciousness, marking the rise of new consciousness.
• 🙏 The concept of 'emptiness' in Buddhism, often translated from 'sunyata', can be better understood as 'spaciousness'.
• 📖 The zen teaching of 'emptying your cup' means clearing mental clutter to achieve enlightenment.
• 🌌 Spaciousness is a dimension of consciousness present in every human, often hidden by mental clutter.
• 🌄 Moments of perceiving natural beauty or connecting deeply with another being can provide glimpses of this spaciousness.
• 👶 Interacting with a baby can liberate one from continuous thinking, allowing for a moment of pure consciousness.
• 🌿 Little flashes of this deeper consciousness help maintain mental sanity and a sense of life's worth.
• 🧘 People burdened by noisy minds struggle to perceive these moments of spaciousness, remaining veiled from deeper consciousness.

Q & A

What is the beginning of spiritual awakening according to the speaker?

The beginning of spiritual awakening is realizing that there is a continuous commentary in the mind, recognizing that thoughts are separate from awareness.

How does the speaker describe the recognition of thought?

The speaker explains that the recognition of thought is not a thought itself but comes through awareness or presence, which is a higher consciousness.

What does the Zen master's phrase 'empty your cup' mean in this context?

It means that to grasp deeper truths, one must empty the mind of mental clutter, allowing space for awareness and presence.

Why does the speaker find the word 'emptiness' a poor translation?

The speaker believes 'emptiness' gives a misleading impression of something missing, whereas a better translation for the Buddhist term 'sunyata' is 'spaciousness,' which refers to an open dimension of consciousness.

How does the speaker differentiate between thinking and being thought?

The speaker argues that most people don't voluntarily think; instead, they are 'being thought' by their mental processes, and their identity is created by these thoughts.

What is the significance of moments when one perceives beauty, like a sunset or a baby's eyes?

In those moments, a person becomes free from the constant stream of thinking, experiencing a sense of spaciousness, peace, and connection with being.

Why do some people find it difficult to experience this spaciousness?

Some people's minds are so noisy and cluttered with thoughts that they can't perceive beauty or moments of stillness, creating a 'veil' that blocks awareness.

How do moments of spaciousness manifest in everyday life?

They can arise spontaneously in moments of awe, such as looking at nature or a baby's eyes, where a person momentarily stops thinking and feels a deeper aliveness.

What role does awareness play in spiritual awakening?

Awareness allows one to recognize thoughts without identifying with them, opening the door to higher consciousness and a more peaceful state of being.

Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of spaciousness in consciousness?

Spaciousness is the spiritual dimension of consciousness, and realizing it is crucial because it transcends worldly success or failure and brings deeper meaning to life.

Outlines

00:00

🧘 Recognizing the Voice in Your Head

This paragraph introduces the concept of spiritual awakening as the recognition of the continuous commentary in our minds. The awareness of this 'voice in the head' is the key to understanding higher consciousness. The narrator explains that this recognition is not a thought itself but comes through awareness, or presence, which marks the beginning of spiritual awakening. The speaker further emphasizes that thinking is often involuntary, and the term 'I think' is misleading since people are typically controlled by their thoughts. The paragraph concludes by discussing the Zen teaching of 'emptying the cup'—a metaphor for clearing mental clutter—and offers a deeper interpretation of the Buddhist concept of 'emptiness' as 'spaciousness,' a dimension of consciousness present in all humans.

05:05

🌅 Moments of Spiritual Realization

In this paragraph, the speaker explores brief moments when people might become aware of the underlying spaciousness within them, even if they are unaware of its spiritual significance. These moments often occur during experiences of natural beauty, such as sunsets or vast landscapes, when the incessant stream of thoughts subsides temporarily. The speaker describes how these moments bring a heightened sense of aliveness and peace, freeing people from their thoughts about the past or future. These flashes of presence, though short-lived, help people feel more connected to life and can provide a sense of sanity.

10:09

👶 Connection Through Presence

This paragraph illustrates how interactions with infants can also trigger moments of spiritual presence. When looking into the eyes of a baby, there is a pure consciousness without thought, and this can momentarily free adults from their own thinking. The speaker describes the experience of feeling good in such moments, as the baby’s presence liberates the adult from their mental stream. While these instances are not often recognized as spiritual, they provide a glimpse into a deeper state of consciousness. However, the speaker notes that some people are so consumed by their thoughts that they are unable to experience these moments of presence, whether through babies or nature.

Keywords

💡Spiritual Awakening

Spiritual awakening refers to a profound shift in consciousness where an individual begins to perceive reality from a deeper, more connected perspective. In the video, this awakening is described as the realization of the continuous mental commentary or 'voice in the head' and the distinction between the thinker and the thought. It is the recognition of thought as separate from the awareness that observes it, marking the beginning of a journey towards higher consciousness.

💡Thought

In the context of the video, 'thought' is portrayed as a stream of mental activity that often operates automatically and dominates our experience of reality. The speaker emphasizes that most people are not in control of their thoughts but are instead 'thought by thought,' indicating a passive relationship with their mental processes.

💡Awareness

Awareness, as mentioned in the script, is the state of being conscious or perceptive. It is the quality of attention that allows one to notice and recognize the presence of thoughts without being consumed by them. It is linked to the concept of presence and is seen as a pathway to accessing higher consciousness or spiritual awakening.

💡Presence

Presence is the quality of being truly in the moment, fully engaged with one's current experience. The video suggests that presence is a form of higher consciousness that allows for the recognition of thoughts without being controlled by them, leading to a state of spiritual awakening.

💡Voice in the Head

The 'voice in the head' is a metaphor for the internal dialogue that most people experience continuously. The video suggests that recognizing this voice as separate from oneself is a crucial step in spiritual awakening, as it allows one to observe thoughts without identifying with them.

💡Emptying the Cup

The phrase 'emptying the cup' is a Zen metaphor for letting go of preconceptions and mental clutter to make room for new understanding or enlightenment. In the video, it is presented as a challenge to clear the mind of thoughts in order to achieve a state of awareness and presence.

💡Emptiness

Emptiness, in Buddhist terminology, often refers to the understanding that all things lack inherent existence and are interdependent. The video speaker suggests an alternative translation of 'spaciousness,' indicating a state of consciousness that is open and uncluttered, allowing for spiritual realization.

💡Spaciousness

Spaciousness, as an alternative to the term 'emptiness,' is presented as a dimension of consciousness that is expansive and free from the constraints of thought. It represents the potential for a deeper, more profound experience of reality that is available to all humans but often obscured by mental clutter.

💡Mental Clutter

Mental clutter refers to the excessive and often negative thoughts, worries, and preoccupations that fill the mind and prevent clear thinking and spiritual growth. The video discusses how this clutter can block access to the spaciousness or emptiness that is a characteristic of higher consciousness.

💡Higher Consciousness

Higher consciousness is a state of being that transcends the ordinary, ego-driven mind and connects with a deeper sense of self and reality. In the video, it is associated with the experience of spaciousness and is seen as the goal of the spiritual journey that begins with awareness and presence.

💡Worldly Success

Worldly success is defined by achievements and recognition in society, such as career advancement or material wealth. The video contrasts this with spiritual realization, suggesting that while worldly success is important, it is secondary to the deeper fulfillment that comes from spiritual awakening.

Highlights

The recognition of thought is not a thought; it comes through awareness or presence, which is the higher consciousness.

Spiritual awakening begins when we realize the continuous commentary in our minds and recognize it as the voice in the head.

The recognition of thought is not the voice in the head; it's a moment of higher awareness, leading to spiritual awakening.

Emptiness, often a term used in Buddhism, can be better translated as spaciousness, which represents the spiritual dimension of consciousness.

The zen master’s phrase 'empty your cup' signifies clearing mental clutter to experience enlightenment, which points to the concept of spaciousness.

Spiritual spaciousness is often hidden by mental clutter, but it exists in every human as a dormant faculty.

Momentary flashes of spiritual awareness can occur through intense experiences of beauty or nature, freeing people from incessant thinking.

The feeling of deep peace and aliveness comes from a temporary cessation of thought, triggered by profound moments of sense perception.

Looking into the eyes of a baby can momentarily liberate us from thinking, as babies exhibit pure consciousness without judgment or thoughts.

Many people experience brief moments of spiritual awareness, but they don’t recognize them as such, yet they offer glimpses of a deeper consciousness.

These brief spiritual flashes, like moments of peace in nature or with a child, help people feel that life is still worth living.

Those heavily burdened by mental noise cannot appreciate these moments of spiritual spaciousness, as their thoughts veil the underlying consciousness.

The mind’s incessant labeling prevents genuine perception of life, beauty, and connection to the deeper spiritual dimension.

Spontaneous moments of spiritual awareness can arise naturally, often unnoticed, but they are vital for sustaining a sense of meaning in life.

Awakening to the spiritual dimension involves moving beyond the ups and downs of life and realizing the deeper consciousness beneath mental activity.

Transcripts

(bell dings)

- And for many, the beginning of spiritual awakening

is to realize that there is this stream

of continuous commentary in their minds

and that is to think, oh, that's interesting.

That's a thought, of course,

but before the thought that's interesting,

the recognition, it's a voice in the head.

And the recognition is not the voice in the head,

although you might say it after the recognition.

But in the moment of recognizing

there's a voice in the head, that's not a thought.

The recognition of thought is not a thought.

The recognition of thought

comes through awareness or presence.

And awareness or presence is the higher consciousness,

the arising new consciousness.

Wow, so that is really the meaning of spiritual awakening.

By the way, in this first half of our gathering

I will be talking more about it.

In the second half,

we will do more experiential.

But even while I talk about it here,

I would hope that if it works for you,

there's already also an experiential realization

of what it is I'm talking about.

So there's the voice in the head

and people say things like, I think.

They don't think

because thinking is not a voluntary action for them.

So it's a delusion to even say I think.

You don't think,

you are being thought by thought.

You are created by thought,

that energy field.

It's amazing.

So the master said, "How can I teach you zen?"

And he say first, empty your cup.

Now that's a huge demand.

If I'm full of clutter, mental clutter,

how am I going to empty my cup?

I would immediately be enlightened

if I could empty my cup.

But the teaching points to something.

It points to the word empty

and that's interesting,

that is an important word in Buddhism

and I don't think it's a good translation.

Who first came up with it, I don't know.

In the 19th century,

the Europeans started to translate ancient text

from Sanskrit

and one person came up with the translation

probably of the Sanskrit term sunyata

and translated it as emptiness.

That doesn't sound so nice.

It sounds like something missing

or something like that.

So I have an alternative translation

for the Buddhist term emptiness.

So that empty is an important word.

So remember, the zen master said,

"How can I teach you zen

unless you first empty your cup?"

Empty.

Emptiness, my alternative translation for that

is spaciousness.

Spaciousness is a dimension of consciousness in you.

And that is what we could call

the spiritual dimension of consciousness,

the deeper or the higher consciousness,

just words, doesn't matter.

And that is in every human, it's there.

Many don't know that it's there

because the clutter is so dense

that they have no realization of the underlying spaciousness

and that is why I say in millions of humans

that is still a dormant faculty so to speak.

So the most important realization in your life

much more important than what you have achieved

on the level of the world,

whether your life in worldly terms

is regarded as a huge success

or a dismal failure

or for most of you probably something in between.

That's normal.

Sometimes you fail, sometimes you succeed

and then you move from gaining, losing,

high, low, up and down.

That's the identity for most.

So the clutter of your mind is there

but there are moments in your life

when you become aware of something spacious

underneath it.

But you may not call it that.

You may not call it anything.

It may arise, for example, in,

oh, I forgot,

in many humans

who may never have heard of anything spiritual,

they're out there,

they don't know that the little bit of that is in them,

but they don't know it,

little glances come occasionally into their lives

of that dimension.

It's not enough to actually say

that the spiritual dimension

has awakened in them,

but little flashes come up now and then into their lives.

And that is enough,

those little flashes from that dimension

come into their lives

and that is enough to keep many people sane.

And those flashes can come when they're,

you might think when you go out into nature

and you see something extraordinarily beautiful

like a sunset,

for a moment you go, ah,

or the vastness of the ocean or the sky

or the elements,

the wind, the storm,

and for a moment you go ah,

and it's a moment of intense aliveness and you feel,

and then you may remember that moment a little later

and that was such a beautiful moment.

Why was it?

Yes, maybe what you perceived was beautiful

but you felt something in that moment.

You felt a heightened sense of aliveness

and a deep peace and connectedness

with being so to speak.

Why?

Because that moment of sense perception

of something vast or beautiful

freed you for a moment

from the incessant stream of thinking.

So the incessant stream of thinking,

let's say you see this vast,

this incredible sunset or whatever

and for a moment, you give it your complete attention

and for a moment you're not thinking about yourself,

your problems,

your problematic life history

or your even more problematic future.

Actually, you're not thinking about anything.

For a moment, the stream of thinking subsides

and it goes chew, ah.

And that is without knowing it,

you have a little flash has come up from that dimension.

And then the next moment,

it may come a few days later again

when you look into the eyes of a baby one year old,

maybe just in the street or in a cafe

and the baby looks at you

and the baby's one year old

and the eyes are like the baby's.

(audience laughing)

And you know instinctively

that the baby's not thinking about you

because thinking hasn't started yet.

The words have not accumulated yet.

The thoughts haven't started yet.

And yet there's a consciousness there

and you can see very clearly

there's an intense consciousness

that's looking through those eyes at you

without judging you in any way.

And in that moment for just a few seconds,

you feel so good

and you think aw.

Why do you feel so good?

Because at that moment,

the baby liberated you from your stream of thinking

and again, a little bit of spaciousness

opened up inside you.

So for those few seconds

when you looked into the eyes of the baby,

you were not thinking

and the baby wasn't thinking.

So through the baby,

you are able to be in that dimension

and it felt so good.

Spontaneously they can arise.

They're not recognized by people as ultimately spiritual

but they are.

And so many people,

there are millions of people

who experience those things briefly,

but that's enough to give you a sense still

of life is worth living.

And then there are others

who are so burdened by their minds,

they cannot even communicate with a baby.

They cannot even perceive the beauty of nature anymore

because their mind is so noisy that they never,

there's a total veil.

So they don't look at the baby like,

they look at the baby, oh that's a nice baby.

They don't really see the baby.

Immediately it's labeled.

(water streaming)