Eckhart Tolle on Overthinking and Attention to the Present

First published January 13, 2017.

Helpful ways to stop thinking and become present

One of the greatest addictions of humans, according to well known spiritual teacher and author Eckhart Tolle, is thinking. While it’s an addiction you won’t usually hear about, Tolle presents this as a common experience within his spiritual teaching. We can’t stop thinking. We find it difficult to let go of thoughts and this creates havoc in our lives as well as much confusion.

The author of The Power of Now, encourages us to become more aware of the present moment and to let go of the pseudo sense of self.

“I don’t like mindfulness, which implies your mind is full of things. To be present, first of all use the present moment. Presence is a space of no-thought and can be there in the background when thinking is happening.”

Here Eckhart Tolle shows us ways to drop the endless cycle of thinking.

(The video originally embedded here is no longer available on YouTube.)

Source: Uplift Connect via The Mind Unleashed

A spiritual perspective, not a diagnosis

Tolle's language about an addiction to thinking belongs to his teaching. It should not be read as a clinical classification of ordinary thought or a claim that everyone has the same problem. The useful invitation is to notice when thinking has become repetitive rather than helpful. A thought can be present without requiring an immediate argument with it.

Give reflection a concrete stopping point

If you are turning over an everyday decision, write down what you know, what remains uncertain and the next action available. Then choose when you will revisit it. This is a modest organisational experiment, not a promise to eliminate thoughts or replace support for persistent distress. The aim is to make room for the activity in front of you without treating your mind as an opponent to defeat.