The Power of Presence: A Guided Meditation | Eckhart Tolle

so let's start with some very basic things to enter that meditative State of Consciousness because that's what it is all about meditation is about a shift in cons Consciousness away from concern with doing and thinking and becoming aware really directly aware of the present moment and that's perhaps the easiest and most accessible starting point for most people uh to enter the state St of presence which is the aim of meditation is to get you into that state of absolute presence in this moment and that's being becoming aware of being most people are always engaged in doing that includes thinking continuously and a lot of thinking that people do is not very uplifting a lot of the thinking that happens compulsively creates negative feelings and a lot of thinking is actually harmful and dysfunctional it doesn't serve any useful purpose but you just can't stop it well you think you can't but you can and that's of course what meditation is about to realize there is in you a deeper dimension of Consciousness deeper or higher you could call it depending from where you look at it deeper or higher than thinking and that is the state of presence in the now so it's an amazing realization for most people that they can actually easily access that state of Presence by bringing their attention into the present moment like now so I'm kind of or I'm talking my aim is to talk you so to speak into that state of meditation and it helps if while I talk you can become conscious or aware of the small gaps between words as I talk so you're just aware not only of the words of course you hear the words you take them in but you're also aware that there are little spaces between the words you just acknowledge that these are little meditative gaps so to speak and in order to be really aware of the meditative gaps you can't be thinking you just aware of that space there is what does that mean aware there is a presence in that awareness you know in that awareness like now you know that you are here as a conscious presence without any thought telling you that in other words you become aware of yourself not as a person because to be a person you need to be thinking about you and your life and your problems and so on but there's a deeper dimension in you deeper than the person and this is what we are here to access so you become aware that really on the surface of your life there is the person with a past and the future and all the thinking and the emotions that keep the person going of course and so you're happy one day unhappy the next happy one day unhappy the fluctuations of the person it's quite normal and the person is always concerned with doing and thinking and the next thing or the past the future the past is never really present when you become present like now you realize that there is a deeper part in you there is a deeper Dimension to who you are where you are more than a person where you are a presence a conscious presence the question is can you sense feel or be aware of yourself at this moment as a conscious presence without which there couldn't even be a person so it's almost like saying the person is the surface of the ocean or the ripples on the or the waves on the surface of the ocean but you are not just the ripples or waves on the surface of the ocean you are the ocean so there's a deeper presence in you and to access that and to sense that in yourself to sense yourself as the presence a presence that is what liberates you from [Music] being completely trapped and limited in an exclusively personal identity in other words there is more to you than meets the eye you are deeper than you ever knew by thinking about yourself and it's not difficult to access that dimension in yourself can one describe it well one can give a few pointers let's see if that make sense the pointers I'm giving you now let's see if they make sense in [Music] your own experience at this moment sensing yourself as a presence there is a p peacefulness there that is a that is really the essence of what is sometimes called inner peace the person the surface of the ocean the waves and the ripples of the ocean cannot be at peace for long it fluctuates occasionally if things happen to go well yeah I'm happy but never lasts for very long then the storm comes and big waves come or little little irritated waves whatever then you're unhappy but there's a deeper if if let's say you are a ripple on the surface of the ocean with a name and the date of birth and the past and the future and and problems and suddenly the Ripple realizes there's more to me and realizes is oh I'm actually much deeper and vaster I'm the ocean manifesting as the Ripple and so you are the universe or the Consciousness that underlies the sense perceived Universe manifesting temporarily as a person you are the universe becoming conscious of itself at this moment in in your life as a person you are not separate from the totality of the universe you are the universe the universe has or the Consciousness that underlies the Universe has given form to who you are temporarily in order to experience itself as a person it's an amazing thing and the universe here is in the process of becoming more conscious that's what the entire evolution of the universe is about it's Consciousness so you your life is part of the evolutionary impulse towards greater Consciousness and if your life is not primarily about greater Consciousness which actually you can build into whatever you do it doesn't mean you stop doing and just say I all all I'm interested in Consciousness no it needs to flow into what you do if that if your life purpose is not aligned with the conscious the evolving consciousness of the universe then what is the point of it all and then sooner or later you get very frustrated and Things become pointless so you are here to become more conscious because that's what the universe is has put you here for instead of universe you can use other terms if you're more comfortable with them the universal intelligence God so right now in addition to being a person which right now is not important it becomes important again when we finish our meditation I'm sure but right now something else is more important and let's realize in yourself as the presence coming into the present moment and feeling just being aware right now that you are [Music] conscious if you were not conscious you wouldn't be able to hear see perceive anything the fact that you can perceive things the fact that you can think the fact that you can have emotions all implies that you are conscious the meditative state is becoming aware directly of that Consciousness sometimes the word that is used also is stillness right now you become still you become aware of just being of being that present and that feels energizing you don't go to sleep you're actually alert and still at the same time and now you access an intelligence that is deeper than the thinking Mind by entering that state of alert presence and