Transforming Challenges into Growth with Eckhart Tolle

it is madness to argue with is it is intelligent action arises if the starting point is alignment with what is internally the the nature and function of challenges and difficulties in The evolutionary process we can use the term challenge which is already has a positive spin to it something happens and you call it a it's a big challenge but without the positive spin you would say it's really bad it's that I oh it's so bad what has happened then you become more spiritual and say I'm faced with a challenge okay now challenges come in many forms Ms there's no human life that is not profoundly challenged in one way or another some humans are challenged by physical physical challenges difficulties other humans are hugely challenged by Dreadful psychological challenges and uh their own minds uh personal challenges in your personal life Collective challenges that affect millions of people at the same time although in various ways we've just had one so um it seems that many things are almost designed in one's life to stop you from evolving or becoming more conscious and many people say if I only had um surroundings if I lived in a place where that was peaceful and calm and my my my needs are met my my basic needs are met in I got Pure Food and everything else so I don't have to worry about things anymore if I could only live in this per perfect environment I could really make spiritual progress if I only had that but I don't I can't and and no matter what state you're at always obstacles arise continuously sometimes things go well and then another obstacle goes and then they go well again oh obstacle come in many many forms physical relationship Financial home situation all kinds of things pandemic is a collective one and other Collective ones most likely coming [Music] soon uh the strange thing is evolution happens only uh when faced with obstacles that happens on every level physical level every level it's only when an obstacle is encountered that there's a call for more energy and then more energy Flows In And whatever the frequency of energy could even be physical for example if you want to have a stronger body uh you it would not it's not going to happen if you lie on your sofa every day drink drinking beer and watching Netflix you can say I want a stronger body yeah well um it's not happening now what do you have to do to have stronger body to put it in strange terms you have to at first you have to make life difficult for your body for example you have to you go jogging and you think I wish I was watching Netflix on my sofa but and the body doesn't like it but you you say and then you lift a [Music] weight but you're making life difficult for your body very difficult but only then it happens the your body then demands more energy and an influx of energy comes that eventually is translated into muscle grows and so on and then a point comes when you actually more energy has come then you suddenly enjoy that but the enjoyment is preceded by experiencing difficulty and obstacle on every level humans evolve many many people here uh I know that from what people have told me it's always the case many of you would not be here if you had not encountered very difficult life situations either through loss or breakdown of relationships uh loss of um loved ones physical ill serious physical illness accident many people have told me I would never have come or realize what this is about if I hadn't gone through this difficult period in my life it's then there's an influx of energy that comes and the at the highest level it is an increase in Consciousness as as you're faced with difficulties some difficulties can be um removed on a practical level many other difficulties require an increase in Consciousness for you to overcome them or transcend them I've had correspondence from people in prison for many summer in prison for life and they've said I have awakened through coming into contact with this teaching I have awakened and I am free in a prison cell so they have it is uh in the in in your comfort zone it is the very unlikely that the Awakening will happen to any human being as long as they remain in their comfort zone perhaps if they had is this is the last Incarnation that they've already gone through in arms amount of evolution in previous lifetimes and then perhaps at a very early age AG they can already awaken but most humans they do not awaken as long as they're in their comfort zones oh it's good good enough com I mean comton is not all that happy mostly but at least it's not too bad but when you're taken out of your comfort zone that's where Evolution happens the evolution of Consciousness so in other words you need the bad to evolve sorry and life doesn't leave you alone even after Awakening you gotes come oh my God but what changes is uh and this is important that you no longer demand that the world should leave you alone and should make you happy it can't as long as you think it should and there was something wrong when you you're being challenged by this or that you think there's something deeply wrong with my life I'm being challenged or in other words I'm experiencing some all these difficulties and so then then you realize you drop the demands that the world should make you happy because the world isn't here for that it's here to make you conscious to awaken you and it does that by confronting confronting you with difficulties one after another now some difficulties are so bad that they kill you that's true that could happen and then you get another chance after that it was perhaps the philosoph needu said what doesn't what doesn't kill me makes me stronger there's some truth to that so the um when challenges happen the important thing is how do you how how do I meet this challenge with what state of consciousness do I meet this Challenge and that determines the further development of that particular situation also if you're able to meet a challenge consciously instead of reactively then quickly it becomes transformed also externally as a challenge to meet it consciously means in the first instance to accept this moment as it is no matter what what it presents you with no matter what this moment what form this moment takes you accept this moment as it is because you might as well because it already is it is madness to argue with is it is of course then you what what can you do about it if you need to take action or can take action action intelligent action arises if the starting point is uh alignment with what is internally this is what is and then you act if action is needed right action will arise but when if immediately you go into reactivity you make the situation worse than it is it you often amplify something bad and becomes even worse and worse through reactivity you can verify this when dealing with an unconscious human if you react to their unconsciousness then you yourself become more unconscious and you make them more unconscious and you get huge drama so