Jana Shepard ©2021

While Eckhart Tolle approaches the concepts from a different perspective than Annie Dillard, I

do think his insights mesh quite well with the main concepts presented by Dillard, especially her

discussion on the "noise of useless internal babble that keeps [her] from seeing” (34 – 35).

To begin, Tolle gives us an insight into words. He says "[w]ords, no matter whether they are

vocalized and made into sounds or remain unspoken as thoughts, can cast an almost hypnotic

spell upon you. You easily lose yourself in them, become hypnotized into implicitly believing

that when you have attached a word to something, you know what it is. The fact is: you don't

know what it is. You have only covered up the mystery with a label" (25).

Tolle says "[w]hen you don't cover up the world with words and labels, a sense of the

miraculous returns to your life that was lost a long time ago when humanity, instead of using

thought, became possessed by thought" (26).

You might find it a bit odd that an English instructor, one who works with words and stresses

precision with the words we use, would have you read about words and the potential drawbacks

of words. I will be the first to admit that words are not the ultimate answer. Yes, we need to

strive for precision and clarity in the words we use, but we also need to be aware that words are

not the be-all and end-all. Poets and poetry seem to come the closest to using words to define

and explain the world around us. But even with poetry, most poets will tell you of the struggle

they have to find the exact words needed to convey what they truly mean. The point is this:

words are not bad or something to be avoided; they are a very useful tool in our society and

everyday lives. But they are a tool to be used to serve us and not a means to define in entirety

who we are and the world around us.

Tolle describes the process children go through when they learn the "I-thought" and the

thoughts of "me and mine to designate things that are somehow part of 'I'" (29). Our identity

becomes attached to things including our thoughts. Tolle says "[m]ost people are still

completely identified with the incessant stream of mind, of compulsive thinking , most of it

repetitive and pointless. There is no 'I' apart from their thought processes and the emotions that

go with them" (30).

Tolle draws a distinction between thinking and awareness. He says "that thinking without

awareness is the main dilemma of human existence" (32). He then describes his own shift, brief

as it was, from thinking to awareness. Once again, thinking in and of itself is not a bad thing. It

is when we mistake thinking with being aware that we miss the greater experiences life has to

offer. For some, excessive thinking and identification with their thoughts leads to a never ending

spiral of ego wanting.

Tolle Lecture 1

Jana Shepard ©2021

The advertising industry, according to Tolle, "know[s] very well that in order to sell things

that people don't really need, they must convince them that those things will add something to

how they see themselves or are seen by others; in other words, add something to their sense of

self" (35). But "[t]he ego satisfaction is short-lived and so you keep looking for more, keep

buying, keep consuming" (36).

Finally, Tolle states that simply having stuff is not enough for the ego and that the "wanting"

and a continual wanting for something more is of more importance to the ego.

Tolle, Eckhart. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. Penguin Group, 2006.

Tolle Lecture 2