Podcasts about essential teachings

Eckhart explains why our goal is to learn to access the transcendent part of ourselves which is beyond thinking. Most people have no connection to this state until some crisis pushes them to dig deeper. Eckhart says we must find spaces of awareness between thoughts which will eventually lead us to a state of being that is connected to the soul of the universe. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Eckhart says the most important things we can do is transform our state of consciousness, realize our connection to the source and let go of our self-imposed limitations. He compares the transcendent realm to the sun. We are like a ray from that source, shining into this world. Eckhart believes everyone on the planet is a brief flicker of consciousness… here for a short time; but connected to the eternal. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Eckhart quotes ancient Greek philosopher, Pythagorus who said, “Know thyself.” Eckhart says unfortunately our educational system is geared toward only one kind of knowledge: the intellectual. He explains how there is another knowledge based on wisdom and intuition. It's that kind of inner-knowing he says we must embrace, not as a replacement for intellectual knowledge but as a much-needed addition. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

October 2025 Sesshin, Day 3 Commentary on “The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin.” Translated by Normal Waddell. Shambhala, 1994 Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal.  Automated Transcript The post Zen Master Hakuin #3 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

October 2025 Sesshin, Day 2 Commentary on “The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin.” Translated by Normal Waddell. Shambhala, 1994 Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal.  Automated Transcript The post Zen Master Hakuin #2 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

October 2025 Sesshin, Day 1 Commentary on “The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin.”  Translated by Normal Waddell. Shambhala, 1994. Teisho by Sensei Dhara Kowal.  Automated Transcript The post Zen Master Hakuin #1 appeared first on Rochester Zen Center.

Eckhart asks, “When life's challenges strike, how do we respond?” He questions do we rise above worn-out patterns with new awareness or do we spiral into the old unconsciousness. He says we shouldn't blame ourselves when we relapse. Suffering and setbacks are a necessary and vital part of awakening. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Scriptures ReferencedMatthew 7:121 Timothy 4:15-161 John 1:8-101 Corinthians 15:10Books ReferencedDallas Willard, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus's Essential Teachings on Discipleship, HarperOne. 2006CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses. Links ReferencedPaul Tripp, 4 Carnival Mirrors of Ministry, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/4-carnival-mirrors-of-ministry/

Eckhart discusses the path to awakening. He says there are two stages to a person's life: waking up and growing up. Many start to awaken, only to later discover large parts of their personality lag behind; they haven't really grown up. To reach maturity Eckhart says spiritual practice must encompass all of who we are and become an integral part of our daily lives. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Eckhart says the beginning of liberation is when you realize you are not the thinker. He says many people derive their identity from what the mind tells them. For those who have not yet awakened that is where they find their sense of self. We free ourselves when we begin to realize there is a vast realm of intelligence beyond thought and that the things which truly matter like joy, love and inner peace arise beyond the mind.

Eckhart discusses discovering the joy of being. He says in any given moment we have the chance to remain open to life, align with what is and experience a natural sense of peace and aliveness. Eckhart helps us release past conditioning to experience ourselves and our lives with a fresh perspective and sense of delight.

Eckhart takes listeners through a live meditation inspired by a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The wick of individual life runs deep into the oil of pure being." Eckhart says we have great depth within. He encourages listeners to reach beyond the limitations of their personality to find what he calls the Deep I. He describes it as that aspect of ourselves which transcends the ego and is connected to the ultimate source of universal consciousness.

Eckhart takes listeners through two live meditations about the stillness within. He says finding the transcendent dimension is the only thing that will satisfy us. He believes it's not something we can achieve, it's something we discover in the here and now. Eckhart explains why becoming aware of ourselves in stillness is the essence of all identity.

 Eckhart answers questions on several topics, including one about addiction. He says people are addicted to many substances. But the greatest addiction of all is thinking. It's like a drug…and people can't stop.  They resist letting go because it shields them from the painful parts of their lives. Eckhart says the solution is presence. Becoming aware slows down an overactive mind. Our confusion dissipates…and thinking loses its ability to wreak havoc in our lives. 

Eckhart addresses topics like surrendering the ego, what to do with anger and how to confront our fears. Eckhart says fear arises when we become drawn into negative thinking and project it into the future. He goes on to say that most of the time, fear has no basis in reality because when the future finally arrives, it's actually the present moment again. And in the present there is usually nothing to fear.

Eckhart leads a meditation and then answers questions from a live audience. He says the most important thing to achieve in our lifetime is stillness because without it we feel frustrated, angry and discontent. He says stillness is the answer that brings the sense of aliveness we feel when we're free of thought.

Eckhart talks with a live audience about the new consciousness he sees emerging around the world. He says one of life's great mysteries is that the universe is conscious. While scientists struggle to define it and we can't see it under a microscope, consciousness exists. Eckhart says we are living proof of that and we have a role to play. He quotes an ancient aphorism: “You are the light of the world.” He says what that means is we are the light of consciousness manifesting in the world.

Eckhart talks with a live audience about letting go of our false sense of self. He says when we base our identity on externals: our looks, what we do and where we live - that's the ego. In that state, we're either inferior or superior; never equal. True relationships become impossible. But when we're grounded in essential being, the need to compare disappears and we discover we are infinitely precious.

 Eckhart talks with a live audience about freeing oneself from the mind to find presence. He says, we must become aware of the harmful thoughts that hold us hostage. Life's crises need not drag us into unconsciousness. We can stay alert, and let the rough times take us to a deeper state of awareness. Eckhart says while the path to presence is narrow, it ultimately leads to life. 

Eckhart talks with a live audience about the process of becoming aware. When challenges arise, he says go with it. Learn to accept each moment as if we had chosen it. He explains that if you do this, what at first looks like an obstacle then becomes an opening into transcendence.

Eckhart talks with a live audience about his belief that we are meant to bring consciousness to this world. To do that, we must keep the pathways clear. We rise above thought, not fall below it, which is what happens when we use substances like alcohol and drugs. Once we become free of that, Eckhart says we realize the essence behind the personality… which is pure presence.

Original Air Date: September 30, 2021. Eckhart talks to a live audience. He says most of us are going through a transition in consciousness which he calls awakening. He sees that as the next stage of human evolution. There have been rare periods in history when collective awareness made great leaps forward. Eckhart sees a similar shift happening now. He says we must continue with our practice, release our inner turmoil and align ourselves with the inevitable now.

Original Air Date: September 23, 2021. Eckhart talks with a live audience and urges participants to wake up from the delusion that the things we think will make us happy… won't. Even if we get everything on our wish-list: wealth, fame, a life of ease, we feel unsatisfied. But Eckhart says the world is not here to make us happy. It's here to help us evolve. He says whatever our situation is, we can surrender to life's challenges and awaken right where we are.

Original Air Date: September 16, 2021 In this podcast, Eckhart talks with a live audience about clearing away the obstacles to presence. Eckhart says the entire universe is awakening and is in the early stages of something vast. We are a part of that. To be spiritually awake, means releasing barriers created by the mind. Eckhart says while the ability to think is a great evolutionary achievement, people have become so enmeshed in thought, they've lost touch with their deeper essence and their spiritual legacy.

Original Air Date: September 9, 2021 Eckhart answers questions from a live audience including healthcare professionals: doctors, nurses, and therapists. They ask questions about how to deal with the expectations of their patients who yearn for healing and wholeness. He emphasizes the importance of tending to one's state of consciousness and getting the ego out of the way, so the power of stillness and presence can shine through. He says only then can we truly be of service to others.

Eckhart talks with a live audience about the importance of cultivating wisdom. He says the first step is acknowledging the magnitude of all that we don't know. Then we step out of our “thinking mind,” with its chronic judgments and interpretations, and step into what he calls aware stillness. It's there that we have access to a much deeper intelligence, one connected to our higher purpose which Eckhart believes is to realize our oneness with the totality of the universe.

Eckhart talks to a live audience about bringing meditation practice, inner spaciousness and what he calls presence, into our everyday lives.  However, he cautions against making meditation one more chore on our “To-Do” list. He says so often there is the underlying assumption that we must become good at meditation or succeed at it. That in itself can actually become a hindrance. The idea is not to do, but to be.

Original Air Date: August 19, 2021 Eckhart talks with a live audience filled with both patients and healthcare professionals, about the new consciousness emerging in medicine. Eckhart explains why there has been a lack of compassion, time and care of patients. He offers solutions on how doctors can be more fully present with their patients and get to know them on an individual basis. Eckhart also explains how illness can become an awakening, pushing us out of our ego and into a connection with our deeper self. 

Original Air Date: August 12, 2021 Eckhart talks to an international audience in Greece. He brings his renowned wisdom to everyday concerns: like how to quiet an over-active mind, what is the best way to set boundaries with friends and family and how we can use the practice of presence to create conscious relationships. 

Original Air Date: August 5, 2021 Eckhart Tolle meets with an international audience and answers questions on topics we can all relate to such as: are love and consciousness the same thing? Why do our egos drive us to be separate and define the people in our lives as “other?” He also addresses a subject that troubles parents everywhere…navigating screen time with our children and the overwhelming impact of technology. Eckhart says we can begin to help our children by tending to our own state of awareness and becoming more conscious parents.

Original Air Date: July 29, 2021 Eckhart Tolle shares the story of his own personal journey and the spiritual transformation that led to his groundbreaking work. He recalls his childhood in Germany and Spain, his parents' tumultuous relationship and subsequent divorce. At the age of 29, he experienced a soul-crushing depression that pushed him to the brink of despair. Out of that pain, Eckhart says he experienced a profound awakening that changed the course of his life forever. He went on to share his revolutionary ideas with others, which ultimately set him on the path to becoming a best-selling author and one of the great spiritual teachers of our time.

Original Air Date: July 22, 2021 Eckhart Tolle talks about the path to Inner Peace. He emphasizes that our inner state is not contingent on outer circumstances. Our job is to align with what he calls the “Is-ness” of the present moment, release excessive thinking and refrain from reacting to the external conditions of our lives. We accept whatever is happening in the here and now. Eckhart says our true purpose is to awaken to who we are beyond our three dimensional form. There is more to each of us than the person, our personality and our personal history. The path to leading a truly satisfying life lies beyond… it's what Eckhart calls timeless consciousness.

Original Air Date: July 15, 2021 Eckhart Tolle talks with a live audience about a phenomenon he sees unfolding: which is the awakening of individuals around the world. He jokes that he could call them The United States of Awareness. He says awakening humans are like hybrids experiencing a metamorphosis, like caterpillars becoming butterflies. He encourages everyone to tend to their state of consciousness and to make it a practice. He says whatever happens in our lives, accept that it's exactly what we need for our spiritual growth.

Original Air Date: July 8, 2021 Eckhart Tolle begins his talk joking with a live audience about a video game reviewed in the New York Times called Stillness. He laughs and wonders if his work is having an impact on mainstream culture after all. He says one thing is certain, the world is definitely growing in awareness. Eckhart ponders the fact that all the qualities that are deeply essential in us are invisible to the eye: our consciousness, our sense of aliveness, our love and our joy. Eckhart goes on to answer questions on such topics as: trusting our feelings and how to eliminate conflict in our lives, especially when the opinions of others differ from our own. His answers, rooted in both practical and profound wisdom, not to mention his dry sense of humor, will surprise you. 

Original Air Date: July 21, 2021 Eckhart Tolle touches on the purpose of human existence which he sees as evolutionary, awakening, to become fully human. He then answers related questions from a live audience on a wide range of topics: How much of our lives are within our control? Can we really plan for the future? How do we deal with the pain-body and also stay conscious? Eckhart says if we align with the “is-ness” of the present moment and pay attention to our state of consciousness, the future will look after itself. It's only by embracing the here and now that we have the opportunity to lead lives with clarity and purpose. We also must learn to accept each moment as if we had chosen it. Because we did.

Original Air Date: June 24, 2021In this podcast, Eckhart Tolle answers questions from a live audience about issues we all can relate to… like what to do when we compare ourselves to others, how to turn family arguments into opportunities for conscious relationships and how anger can actually be used as a tool for spiritual growth.  Eckhart says comparison is one of the favorite devices of the ego.  He says when we get in touch with the essence of who we truly are, the dysfunctional dynamic of comparing and despairing becomes unnecessary and meaningless.  

Original Air Date: June 17, 2021 Eckhart Tolle talks with a live audience about the importance of living in the now. Drawing on ideas from his best-selling book, The Power of Now, Eckhart encourages participants not to linger on past mistakes, but to learn from them and then let them go. He says we must remember that there is only ever now, not as a memory, but a live realization. Situations arise in our lives, but only in the present moment. And we should not let our life situation obscure the bigger picture of who we are or our sense of aliveness, spaciousness and presence.

Original Air Date: June 10, 2021 Eckhart Tolle talks with a live audience about our tendency to manufacture stories...about ourselves and others; our desperate need to be right and to make others wrong. Eckhart says having a story actually strengthens the ego and keeps us stuck. However, we don't have to stay there. He says we can learn to shift our inner narrative, release the ego and align ourselves with the peace of the present moment.

(Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center) An exploration of the 7 Factors with an emphasis on joy and awakening through non-clinging.

(Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center) An exploration of the 7 Factors with an emphasis on joy and awakening through non-clinging.

(Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center) An exploration of the 7 Factors with an emphasis on joy and awakening through non-clinging.

Original Air Date: May 21, 2021 Eckhart Tolle elaborates on the paradox of order and chaos that exists in our world. For many of us, especially this past year, living through the pandemic has wreaked havoc on our lives. We've experienced loss of socializing, income and perhaps the loss of someone we love. While we might be tempted to despair, Eckhart says order and chaos are an essential part of a higher order. He says there are larger forces at work in the Universe and if we can surrender to that, life's challenges have the potential to transform our consciousness. 

Original Air Date: May 27, 2021 Eckhart Tolle says that we should not panic when life's difficulties arise. He says adversity actually plays a critical role in the evolution of our consciousness. Without it we would not learn to lead what he calls an awakened life. Eckhart quotes an ancient Roman aphorism: Per Aspera Ad Astra... which translates into, “It is through adversity that we reach the stars.” 

Original Air Date: May 21, 2021  Eckhart Tolle shares his wisdom on living through challenging times. Whether it's political upheaval, the pandemic or a personal crisis, Eckhart explains why adversity can actually help us to awaken to the deeper dimension of who we are. 

Original Air Date: May 21, 2021 Eckhart Tolle elaborates on the paradox of order and chaos that exists in our world. For many of us, especially this past year, living through the pandemic has wreaked havoc on our lives. We've experienced loss of socializing, income and perhaps the loss of someone we love. While we might be tempted to despair, Eckhart says order and chaos are an essential part of a higher order. He says there are larger forces at work in the Universe and if we can surrender to that, life's challenges have the potential to transform our consciousness. 

Original Air Date: May 21, 2021Eckhart Tolle shares his wisdom on living through challenging times. Whether it's political upheaval, the pandemic or a personal crisis, Eckhart explains why adversity can actually help us to awaken to the deeper dimension of who we are. 

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center)

"The Path of Inner Transformation: The Essential Fourth Way Teachings" is on Amazon, Kindle, Audible.https://www.theosisbooks.net/https://www.innerworkforspiritualawakening.net/