Eckhart Tolle’s Critical Take on Ego, and Finding Peace
How Eckhart's Work Has Shaped Me
Recently I’ve been reading Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth, a reintroduction to Tolle’s work having read The Power of Now years ago. I first read his work when I was going through my worst bout of anxiety and OCD, so it’s been a refreshing reminder of some of the concepts that helped me heal.
A central theme to his work is his take on the “Ego” and his recommendation to de-identify with our mental stories in order to find peace and happiness.
Immersed in these concepts once I again I wanted to start a series of articles in relation to Eckhart’s take on the Ego and how we can begin to let go of our suffering through de-identification.
In this part of the series we’ll discuss how Eckhart Tolle defines the Ego, and the reprecussions of over-identification, and what our alternative path to healing is. To be reminded of future updates, be sure to subscribe to the channel and enjoy!
The Ego: A Self-Made Story, For Better or Worse
In Tolle’s words, the Ego is a “sense of self that arises when the mind is completely unobserved”. It’s an automatic, programmed brain function through which we sustain a sense of self by deriving meaning and value from the world around us. One way the Ego exerts its impact is in the moment-to moment thoughts we have about us and our place in the world.
It’s in these automatic thoughts, and our engagement in those thoughts, that ultimately dictates how we see ourselves and what meaning we place on our identity or life.
The thoughts we have, emotions we feel, and subsequent actions we take are constantly adding weight to our egoic sense of self. For example, you may believe yourself inherently unworthy and suffer from bouts of negative thinking.
If this is the case, you’ll likely have an array of mental stories you tell yourself as evidence for your claim. You may also find it difficult to disengage from those thoughts, compulsively going over the mind-made stories through acts of rumination/overthinking. Such thoughts and the feeling they exert will then impact our actions, as we search for ways to self-sooth. In relationships, sustaining an unworthy ego may push us into settling for less, failing to express our boundaries and suffering in dissatisfaction as a result.
This is but one example, but we all have our own stories we tell ourselves. There can be a million and not one the same. We are all unique in our genetics, our history; our perceptions of our history, and current environment/circumstances.
Ultimately the point Eckhart is making here with the Ego is that we all have a natural tendancy to create stories in our mind. Such stories will have meaning that we then derive a sense of self from, that if negative or painful in nature, can severely impact our mental and physical health. This was the case for me.
But here’s the catch.
We don’t have to live through the Ego and it’s painful mind-made stories.
There is another way to relate to the world.
And it’s through the conscious awareness of a “deeper I”…
Being, Presence, And Ultimate Peace: A Deeper I
It seems human’s greatest gift and greatest downfall lies in our ability to think. We’ve flown to the moon, cured disease, have built thriving societies, whilst also waging war, exterminating ethnic groups — all the while killing our literal home, planet earth (!).
Sense seems to leave us when the an Ego full of pain takes the wheel.
The problem with having an Ego that likes to tell stories is that we all have subjective opinions. What is “right” for one person, isn’t necessarily “right” for another: creating division not only between communities but also within ourselves. Self-judgement manifests states of anxiety, depression; setting us up for a life of pain.
Eckhart refers to the all of the above; the Ego included, as our “Surface I: the person with a past and a future” but beneath our stories is something much greater, eternal and inherently whole: the “Deeper I”.
Our “Deeper I” shines throgh in the recognition that we are more than our stories. In fact, if we let go of these stories the reality is that we are a conscious being, no different from everything else around us. This is easily shown when we bring awareness to our thoughts.
Have you ever noticed how you can simultaneously have a thought about being unworthy (an Ego-centric story) whilst also seeing that you can view yourself having those thoughts?
How can we be our stories if we can also view them? There seems to be two streams of awareness here. The awareness that “I am” and the awareness that “I am something else”
This “something else” is difficult to comprehend, as there are no words to describe it. Eckhart would say that the moment you put meaning to that something else, you then fall into the Ego’s trap — once again creating stories.
Ultimately this “deeper I” is found in the realisation we are more than our stories. We are present, consciousness, and a life-force exactly the same as the tree’s outside your window, or the objects in your room. A coallation of atoms that have created you, just as they have everything else, only we have also evolved to also have the Ego.
Separating The Two States And Finding Peace
It was liberating to know I was not my stories. My stories once held me captive. If I followed a train of thought that told me I was a bad person, then I was a bad person. I was then depressed, anxious, and compulsive in my need to self-soothe.
Over time I learned to distance myself from those train of thoughts: to recognise I am not my story, but something greater. Some of my most peaceful moments are those free from thought, present in the moment, and enjoying life for what it IS and not what I claim it to be. There is clarity that is found here.
The fact we are here is simply that, a fact. Whilst our stories are subjective, our reality just IS. This can create anxiety in itself for individuals who are new to this work as we may naturally begin to wonder what life means, which can lead us to an existential crisis.
So many individuals are so caught up in their stories that they fail to recognise the larger reality that is their life. I always find it interesting and strange that we’re all caught up in our own bubbles, seemingly unconscious to the fact we are living on a giant rock in the middle of a universe. Sure, there’s nothing we can do about it, but I think it’s healthy to widen our perspectives beyond our short-sighted Ego. Rooting myself in this reality, rather than my own stories, is where I’ve found a lot of healing.
None of this is to say either that we need to disregard our stories completely, as our stories are what make us human. The problem is when such stories pull us out of the present moment and into our heads; away from the inherent peace that is found in just being and wrapped up in our mind-made stories.
The benefit of shifting away from these thoughts is that we can then create the life we want, and place meaning where we want it. I called this blog Above The Middle in relation to my own shift in consciousness. I can tell my Ego is trying to find who I am now I am not tied to my pain, and it’s an active process.
Some Words of Advise
Healing for me came in de-identifying with my Egoic. This shift is ongoing and takes time because we are all in a habit of thinking compulsively thinking through the Ego. Chronic overthinkers and ruminators are those of us held back by our pain, and caught in stories we feel tied to.
Initially, when becoming more aware, I made a conscious effort to recognise when I was caught up in thought, and to bring my attention back to the present moment each time I did. A technique called “noting”, in doing this, we begin to recognise how often we are caught up in thought, and train ourselves to bring ourselves back to the present moment — breaking ourselves out of the fantasy our mind creates.
This is the basis of meditation practices that have been around for centuries, though living in a society collectively caught up in Ego makes it difficult to not fall back into habits of rumination. (More of this in future parts).
If you’re new to this work then I’d suggest spending a week making a conscious effort to note each time you are caught up in thought. Recognise there are two states of consciousness to be found: one where you are invested in your stories: The “Surface I” of the Ego when invested in those thoughts, and a “Deeper I” of being able to watch them. Some would call the “Deeper I”, the Observer, also.
When you catch yourself in these stories, as you undoubtably will, bring your attention back to the present moment. What can you see, touch, smell? Our breath is ever present; never in the future or past, so is a good anchor to use to bring yourself back.
When you are caught up in your Egoic stories you are not present, you are away in a subjective reality that may or may not be true. None of this is to say either that we should avoid our mind-stories, as they could be telling us something important. I will speak in future parts about the importance of recognising our thoughts and emotions, but not dwelling or overthinking.
If thinking was helping us, why are we still in pain?
A thought for the next article.
Thank you for reading this today.
This is the first part in a series of articles I’ll be writing on this topic, as I continue reading through Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth. Subscribe to the page to recieve email updates on new posts and have a great week!