Super Soul Special: Eckhart Tolle: Free Yourself From Anxiety, Stress and Unhappiness

Summary

Oprah's Super Soul: Eckhart Tolle – Free Yourself From Anxiety, Stress, and Unhappiness

Episode Date: March 5, 2025
Host: Oprah Winfrey
Guest: Eckhart Tolle
Main Theme: Exploring the roots of anxiety, stress, and unhappiness—and the role of ego and collective consciousness in shaping personal and global well-being.

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Episode Overview

In this special episode of "Super Soul," Oprah reunites with spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle, revisiting the groundbreaking conversations around his bestselling book A New Earth. With the world seemingly more divided and anxious than ever, they delve into how ego creates separation, how acceptance of the present moment can dissolve suffering, and how cultivating awareness leads to a more peaceful and connected existence. The discussion offers both practical wisdom for daily living and hope for collective evolution.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Ego, Identity, and the Roots of Suffering

[01:20–09:54]

• Collective Challenge: Modern divisions—political, cultural, societal—reflect a collective challenge that, if observed from a higher perspective, calls for deeper consciousness.
• Definition of Ego:
  • Oprah: “Most people think ego means arrogant or show-off, but actually, it's identification with your mental state.”
    [05:55]
  • Eckhart: Ego is deriving your sense of self from thoughts, opinions, roles, and mental constructs rather than the deeper self, or consciousness.
• Separation & Othering: Identifying with thoughts and opinions makes it difficult to see the humanity in others and fuels division (e.g., politics, social issues).
• Memorable Quote:
  • Eckhart: “To be identified is the ego...If you identify with your viewpoint, it is the absolute truth, and it is inseparable from your sense of self.” [05:05]

2. Awakening to Consciousness & True Self

[07:54–10:47]

• Conscious Awareness: You are not your thoughts; you are the awareness behind them. Practicing presence creates brief gaps where true consciousness can be experienced.
• Personal Evolution:
  • Eckhart: “The most essential thing about you is that you are consciousness or conscious right now.” [08:06]
  • Oprah: “If you can hear this conversation, you’ve reached a level of awakening.” [10:23]

3. Acceptance, Presence, and the End of Unhappiness

[13:20–16:32]

• Living in the Present Moment:
  • Oprah’s Favorite Quote:
    “Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you’re having at this moment.” [13:20]
• Accept the Moment as Is:
  • Eckhart: “Accept this moment as if you had chosen it. That brings in a new consciousness.” [15:50]
  • Denying, resisting, or arguing with the present is the root of stress and anxiety.

4. The Mind, Stories, and Creating Suffering

[16:05–17:38]

• It's Not the Situation, It's the Mind:
  • Most unhappiness is caused not by situation but by mental resistance— “It’s the mind telling you something about this moment that causes the unhappiness.” [16:05]
• Experiment:
  • Observe your mind the next time you’re upset—often it’s not the event but the story your mind tells.

5. Ego’s Role in Social & Political Division

[17:42–22:52]

• Othering and Dehumanization:
  • Oprah: “The ego’s fear and distrust of other people... takes it a little further and makes others into inhuman monsters. We are in that state now.” [17:42]
  • Eckhart: “To dehumanize another is to strengthen the sense of self, but it’s a mind-based, not a happy sense of self.” [22:56]
• Regression & Evolution:
  • Human and collective consciousness evolve in cycles—progress, then regress, then a greater advance.
  • Challenges (including political strife) are necessary to deepen awareness.

6. Handling Crisis and How Transformation Happens

[28:05–29:13]

• Change in Crisis:
  • People and societies often only evolve when in crisis.
  • Eckhart: "Humans don't grow except through facing the challenges and crises." [28:13]
• Breakdown Before Breakthrough:
  • Egoic structures must break down for something greater to emerge.

7. Personal Responsibility and Collective Healing

[29:13–30:32]

• Tend to Your Own Consciousness:
  • The primary responsibility is your state of consciousness—not external events.
  • Eckhart: “Before you do anything, what is the state of consciousness out of which the doing arises?” [30:01]

8. Listening, Compassion, and Unity

[30:36–31:35]

• Listening as Presence:
  • True listening is giving complete, still attention—allowing you to feel the deeper essence in another.
  • Oprah: “You’re not your thoughts...they are not their rage.” [31:41]
• Transcending Otherness:
  • By opening your awareness and not identifying with mental stories, you can avoid “otherizing” and act compassionately even in disagreement.

9. Hope for the Future

[32:11–33:39]

• Inevitability of Awakening:
  • Eckhart: “It is inevitable for consciousness to arise more fully on the planet...It can be delayed, but that’s not a bad thing.” [32:18]
• Freedom in Response:
  • What happens to you is secondary to how you respond. This response is your source of freedom.

10. The Purpose of the Soul and What Happens After Death

[33:41–37:31]

• The Deep I:
  • Eckhart: “By soul, I use the pointer ‘the deep I’...at that level you are already complete.” [33:49]
  • The purpose is not to achieve, but to bring that completeness fully into this dimension.
• On Death:
  • The personality dissolves, but if you’ve realized the “deep I,” you become aware of your timeless, divine essence and lose the fear of death.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Ego:

  • “To be identified with your viewpoint or opinion...to you, it is the absolute truth.”
    —Eckhart Tolle, [05:05]

• On Acceptance:

  • “Accept this moment as if you had chosen it. And that brings in a new consciousness.”
    —Eckhart Tolle, [15:50]

• On Listening:

  • “True listening implies that you are still. While you listen, you give your complete attention to the other.”
    —Eckhart Tolle, [30:40]

• On Crisis & Growth:

  • “Humans don’t grow except through facing the challenges and crises.”
    —Eckhart Tolle, [28:13]

• On Hope:

  • “It is inevitable for consciousness to arise more fully on the planet.”
    —Eckhart Tolle, [32:18]

• On the Soul:

  • “Your soul...the essence of who we are, is already timeless. So it evolves in this dimension by coming more fully into this dimension.”
    —Eckhart Tolle, [34:20]

• On What Survives Death:

  • “The part of you that is beyond death...is the deep I, the awareness itself.”
    —Eckhart Tolle, [36:40]

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Important Timestamps

• Framing the Episode & The World’s Big Divide: [01:20–03:59]
• Ego and Identification: [05:03–07:32]
• True Self & Presence: [07:54–10:47]
• Favorite Quote on Accepting Experience: [13:20]
• The Mind as Source of Stress: [16:05–17:38]
• Othering and Political Division: [17:42–22:52]
• Handling Disagreement Without Negativity: [25:53–27:58]
• Role of Crisis in Transformation: [28:05–29:13]
• Personal Responsibility: [29:13–30:32]
• The Power of Listening: [30:36–31:35]
• Hope for Collective Awakening: [32:11–33:39]
• On the Soul and Death: [33:41–37:31]

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Summary of Practical Takeaways

• You are not your thoughts. True liberation is realizing you are the awareness behind thoughts.
• Stress and anxiety come from resisting the present moment. Acceptance brings peace.
• Most suffering is created by the mind’s stories, not actual events. Observe the mind and don’t believe everything it tells you.
• Don’t otherize—see the shared consciousness in all people. Disagreement doesn’t have to mean animosity.
• Personal transformation is possible even amid collective regression. Your consciousness is your responsibility and your freedom.
• Crises and challenges are opportunities for awakening, not reasons for despair.
• Listening with presence creates deeper connection and healing.
• The “deep I”—your soul—is already complete and timeless. Fear of death diminishes when you recognize your true essence.

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This episode is rich in wisdom and practical spiritual guidance, offering hope and tools for those seeking to free themselves from anxiety, stress, and unhappiness. Eckhart’s gentle insights and Oprah’s warmth create an atmosphere of calm and inspiration—reminding listeners that the path to a more conscious and joyful life is open to all, right now.

Transcript

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[Oprah Winfrey]

I'm Oprah Winfrey. Welcome to Super Soul Conversations, the podcast. I believe that one of the most valuable gifts you can give yourself is time. Taking time to be more fully present. Your journey to become more inspired and connected to the deeper world around us starts right now, today on Super Soul Conversations. It's been nearly a decade since visionary spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle joined me for a series of groundbreaking conversations discussing his best selling book, A New Earth livestreamed around the world. 40 million people joined us in what we called the world's biggest classroom. It still just thrills me to think about the collective consciousness that that brought so many of us together. Now, in the midst of what feels like a shift separating millions of Americans and other people throughout the world, Eckhart is back to talk about the state of the new Earth today. Eckhart believes that at the heart of the rancor ego is the source of all of our pain. I can hardly believe it's been 10 years. Almost. You have been one of my greatest spiritual leaders. You've been one of my great inspirations here on the planet.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Thank you.

[Oprah Winfrey]

I mean the lessons I've learned. This is my own frayed copy of the book. I know that there is now a New Earth 10th anniversary edition, but I will always hold on. Even I need to tape these bind the signs. I will always hold onto my own original copy because there are just so Many insights and memories from it. I think that this was the world's biggest classroom that we created.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Right? Yes, yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Well, I've been trying to have this conversation because I thought that you could bring some really profound insight, which is my goal today, insight into where we are and this undercurrent of pain that seems to be showing up in front of ourselves. So I wanted to frame this conversation around actually examining where we are in this shift from egoic mind to consciousness. Because almost 10 years ago we said we're moving to a higher consciousness, and now it feels like there's a big divide that's preventing the consciousness. Or is the divide here to make us more conscious?

[Eckhart Tolle]

Right. Well, the divide is a challenge, a big challenge. So the challenges that are inevitable for humans, sometimes they arise on a personal level, and at other times challenges arise in the collective, which means millions of people get challenged at the same time for the same reason. So from a higher perspective, what we are witnessing now and millions of people are experiencing now is a collective challenge. And all over the world, all over the world, not just here, there's also, in America, here, there's a division that happens. That's basically, if you look at the population or the electorate, half the people live in one kind of universe with one kind of mindset, and the other half live in another alternate universe with another kind of mindset. And that creates a separation. The reason for the separation is that people are so identified with their particular.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Mindset, which is what ego is.

[Eckhart Tolle]

That's what ego is. To be identified with mind, with thought structures, with opinions, with viewpoints, with perspectives. To be identified means to derive your sense of self, your sense of who you are from certain thoughts in the mind. So if you identify it with your viewpoint or opinion, you don't realize that this is a viewpoint or opinion to you. It is the absolute truth, and it is inseparable from your sense of self.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Right. So you think you are that.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

So that's why you say, I am a Republican, I am a Democrat, I am whatever your job is, I am this thing.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. So that's ego. So what's happening now collectively is a strengthening of the ego in many humans.

[Oprah Winfrey]

So I want to say that most. Well, first of all, everybody has an ego. And before I read A New Earth, I thought ego meant the person who was arrogant, the person who was, you know, overconfident, the person who was a show off. But I in fact, learned through a process of A New Earth that everyone has an ego. And the ego is really your Identification with your mental state.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Right.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Whatever that is.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Whatever that is.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Which means we all have it.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. Well, we, all our minds have been conditioned in certain ways. Everybody has their particular kind of conditioning, which goes back to childhood, environment, upbringing, family background, the culture that you grew up in, all that, because the conditioning of your mind.

[Oprah Winfrey]

And so to be clear, whenever you are identifying with that mindset, it means that is your ego.

[Eckhart Tolle]

That's right.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Because who you are, you, the deeper I, the deep, deep I, the deep I, or I say you with a capital Y, O and a U is consciousness.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes, that's right. So to be identified is the ego. It doesn't mean that the conditioning of your mind disappears. So you still have opinions and viewpoints on whatever, on politics and so on, but when you talk about your opinions or viewpoints, you no longer regard them as an essential part of who you are.

[Oprah Winfrey]

That's right. You know what it is, what happened to me, it just doesn't hold as much weight.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

I still am the same person. I still have the same opinions, the same values. But I don't have to prove myself to be right. I can listen to your side of it and hear your side of it and actually see some right in that, even though I might have disagreed. Yes, that's right. So I can observe my. My ego. I can observe my mental state.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Once you understand that you are a part of consciousness, that you are consciousness, that you are separate from your thoughts, which is the biggest lesson to get in the world, is it not?

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. Yes. That's the realization that can only come to you if you are observant and in the gap between two thoughts. For example, right now, as we are speaking, if I slow down a little bit, then there will be very brief gaps between words or between sentences. And if you pay attention to the gaps, they're not only words. And as there can be little spaces between your thoughts, between one thought and another, or when you're looking at something, nature, for a moment, you just look without imposing mental labels on things. And then to be able to sense your own presence in that moment as consciousness, the most essential thing about you is that you are conscious or consciousness right now.

[Oprah Winfrey]

And another word for that is aware.

[Eckhart Tolle]

You are aware. That's the awareness arising. You know that you are conscious directly, not as a conceptual knowledge, but direct realization of that essence of who you are. And that's such a liberation from the prison of inhabiting a purely personalized sense of self where you derive your identity from your personal history, the narrative, the story in your mind, all those things that make up the so called person. There's nothing wrong with that. Of course you have memories, but to derive your sense of self from these memories, that's a great limitation.

[Oprah Winfrey]

So it's just like you write in the beginning of a New Earth. Everybody comes to their own evolution in their own due time. The fact that you're hanging in and you're reading this and you're seeking this means that you have reached a level of awakening, right?

[Eckhart Tolle]

That's right. Because otherwise you would open that book and it would be completely meaningless. Absolutely. There needs already be something in you that recognizes the dimension to which the words point. That is in you.

[Oprah Winfrey]

The dimension to which the words point is the consciousness within you. Because if you are still listening to us right now, it means that you are already in a state of awareness and openness and seeking for yourself that is unlike most of the world, I would say.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

And that's It's a higher state of being if you can even hear this conversation.

[Eckhart Tolle]

That's right.

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[Oprah Winfrey]

This is one of my favorite favorite quotes. Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for you. The evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at this moment.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Which is true for you as an individual and which is true for our culture. Which is true for our world right now. How do we know this is the experience we need? Because this is the experience we are having.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Because that's the way each person's personal evolution operates, right?

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. Well, there is a certain inevitability about whatever form this moment takes because this moment is connected to all previous moments. So the entire universe has conspired to bring about the form that this moment takes. You can't argue with it because if you argue with the present moment, that's suffering and it's crazy.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Say that again. I think it's important for everybody on all sides to hear the entire universe, meaning every human being who's ever lived and evolved to this point, and every person that's been born has been moving to this point in time where what we're experiencing in our lives personally and also on the political stage.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. Because it's all connected has been coming forever. That's right? Yes. Now, in some New Age teachings, you sometimes hear when people go through suffering or pain and somebody else tells them, why did you manifest that? I don't say that. I'm not saying that's not entirely false. But I'm not asking people to convince themselves that they manifested whatever they're experiencing at this moment, even if it's unpleasant. All we need to know is accept this moment as if you had chosen it. I'm not telling people you chose this moment. That's just too much for many people. They don't want to accept that. I don't choosing this illness. I don't choose to lose my job. So I don't want to go there. But all we need to know is in order to live more consciously, in order not to live in opposition to what is in the present moment, which is to live more consciously. Accept this moment as if you had chosen it. And that brings in a new consciousness.

[Oprah Winfrey]

And do not deny the moment. This is what I learned from you. That literally eliminated all stress in my life. Resisting the moment that is is only going to create more anxiety and more being more upset.

[Eckhart Tolle]

A lot of the unhappiness that people experience, they believe it's due to. To the conditions of what's happening at this moment. But in most cases, it's not the conditions of the situation that you're in that causes the unhappiness. It's the mind telling you something about this moment that causes the unhappiness.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yes. So there's like, I should have been there. I should have been earlier. I shouldn't have stopped to do this. I should have done that. It's the mind.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. Sometimes there are people just don't believe what I say. Just try it out in your own life next time you get upset in a certain situation. Let's say you're at the airport. Many people get upset at airports. You line up at the Kerling counter. It takes a long time and you get more and more upset. And then you observe that what is it that causes me to be irritated, angry, upset? What is it this situation? Or is it that my mind is telling me that this should not be happening? The ego is very good at misinterpreting reality and it believes its stories. The ego comes up with stories, often not pleasant stories about the isness of things, and it's a source of great suffering. So once you recognize that, you can experiment in your own life. When you feel upset arising, watch your mind be there. Be aware of what your mind is doing. This is the most vital thing in spiritual life is to be able to watch your mind, to be the observer of your mind, so that the mind is not controlling you.

[Oprah Winfrey]

And that is how you eliminate stress.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

And suffering.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

You say on page 119, the ego's fear and distrust of other people, its tendency to emphasize the otherness of others by focusing on their perceived faults and make those faults into their identity is taken a little further and makes others into inhuman monsters. We are in that state now, are we not? In our culture, our country, our world?

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. Not to be able to see the humanity in another human being, but only hear whatever it is they are saying, whatever is the reflection of their mind, their mental positions, and mistake that for who they are. So anybody who questions or challenges your mental positions is regarded by the ego as an enemy. And this is the way you dehumanize others?

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yes.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Because once you have dehumanized another human being, then it becomes easy if you're very unconscious.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Isn't that what terrorism?

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes, exactly. That's an extra form of that. The most essential thing is that we are both expressions of the one consciousness. What we share as human beings is the essence of who we are. The essence of who I am and who you are is consciousness. Not the thoughts, but the underlying consciousness.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Based on the anger playing out every day in the news negativity on social media feeds, you posed the question, have we regressed? Is the new earth still happening?

[Eckhart Tolle]

It's happening, but it's being challenged. And from a higher perspective, being challenged is a good thing. Let's look at the nature of challenges. If you look at your own life or anybody's life, you may find that one way or another, what looks like obstacles to where you want to go, where you want to be, what you want to achieve. Obstacles seem to arise almost continuously in the form of difficult people, difficult situations. Some people have the perception that they're being sabotaged by life all the time. People resent being challenged by life. They think challenges should not exist. But as I sometimes put it, you may find, if you have lived for long enough, that at some point you realize that the world isn't here to make you happy. It can't do that.

[Oprah Winfrey]

It's sort of like human evolution, where you say it's not linear. You take two steps forward in your own life and a step backwards. And then the further back you go, the more of a bounce. You have to move forward.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Right. We definitely have evolved in consciousness, but it does not go in a straight line upward. The evolution of Consciousness happens, you regress and then you go forward a bit more. It goes in cycles.

[Oprah Winfrey]

I hear people saying all the time, are we going backwards? Are we stepping backwards? Indeed, you say we are.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. All the signs are that now we are at the beginning of a regression regressive movement which. Which does not mean that every individual will become identified with ego again. It's a challenge, but it does not mean that you will also have to regress.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Doesn't this mean. Because you know what we're facing in the country politically, the divisiveness, the political divide here. I think that these times, however, it's showing up in your life because there's really only one goal and that is for us to become more conscious, to become more fully human, to fully express the depths of what we have come here to do. That this is showing up to bring out the most, the best, the highest.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. The challenge actually forces you to go deeper. First, you may suffer. If it drags you down into unconsciousness, then suffering arises again. And as you suffer, then you're forced to transcend the suffering and go deeper. So the big opportunity where challenges arise is the opportunity and the need to intensify your presence.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Meaning being fully here.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes, fully here, More alert, more present, more aware.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah. Will you share your philosophy about how this past election was in some way a mirror of our collective consciousness?

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. So it brought to the surface what was already there in the collective unconsciousness. And now we have the division in pro administration, in Washington and against it. And this is a typical example of how the ego operates and how the ego's need to have enemies.

[Oprah Winfrey]

So it comes back to what I was saying earlier. The. The ego's fear and distrust of other people.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Separation.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah. Wanting to emphasize the other, the other.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Wanting to emphasize separation.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Because if I can make you the other, then it makes myself.

[Eckhart Tolle]

That's an important point. It strengthens your sense of self. But that it's a fictitious sense of self, It's a mind based sense of self. It's not a happy sense of self. So that is important for people. They need to be very alert to.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Not to get sucked in.

[Eckhart Tolle]

That's it. Yes. Because that's the great danger.

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[Oprah Winfrey]

But how can we have disagreements with people and see things that are wrong, that are injustices? See, stand up and take action and do that without getting ourselves sucked into the negativity.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. Without deriving your sense of self from your perspective or your viewpoint. So it is then. If two conscious people are having a discussion, let's say one is a Democrat and the other one is a Republican. And if both of these people have a certain degree of awareness, which means they are not totally identified with their perspective.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah. With their point of views, they would.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Be able to have a discussion without animosity arising, without regarding the other as an enemy. You don't have to be disagreeable when you disagree. What that saying implies is you don't have to be totally identified with your perspective and your viewpoint. And yet you can put it forward in strong terms. This is how I see it. Without deriving your sense of identity from it. Because your sense of identity arises from a deeper place, from the stillness within you, the consciousness, that space of awareness that you are the presence. Whatever word we want to use, you can sense.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Or this need to prove that you're right, which I used to have that big time. Until I read this book. I used to have that.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. Many people have that. The need to be right is a very egoic thing. The ego thrives on being right, which always implies there needs to be someone who is wrong. So the need to make the other wrong, then it strengthens the ego, which means it strengthens what is ultimately a false sense of self. And it's never a happy sense of self. Even if you can prove that you're right, you're still not.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Well. Yes. And because I learned from a New Earth that it wasn't just my need to be right, it was my need for you to see and say that I was right.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. I mean, it has come. Incredible force behind it. This need to be right. Incredible force behind it.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah, yeah, I get that. But you also teach us that humans don't really change until they are in a state of crisis.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. And this is where challenge comes in again.

[Oprah Winfrey]

So are we there yet? We're in that state of crisis. Aren't we there?

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. And it may get worse before it gets better, but that is a necessary part of the evolution. So when we need the crisis, humans don't grow except through facing the challenges and crises. So there are two levels of truth. One is to see the craziness of what's happening now. And another is to see from a higher perspective to what's happening now is part of the evolution. The ego is coming up, is manifesting.

[Oprah Winfrey]

It needs to break down so that something else can break through.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes, yes, that's right.

[Oprah Winfrey]

So based upon everything that you shared with us, how should we be acting, reacting, comporting ourselves in this moment?

[Eckhart Tolle]

Well, the only thing you can take responsibility for is yourself, your own state of consciousness. So first of all, the most important thing to realize is in any situation, whether it's to do with a collective, political situation, personal situation, in any situation, what is possible primary is your state of consciousness, the state of consciousness with which you face that situation.

[Oprah Winfrey]

So how can you sit and observe the hysteria, the craziness going on and kind of be still with it?

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. You can recognize it as a disturbance.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Because I think everybody feels like, I need to do something, we need to do something.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Well, doing sometimes is necessary and called for. At other times, doing isn't really possible. But before you do anything, what is the state of consciousness out of which the doing arises? Because that determines the quality of your doing.

[Oprah Winfrey]

And as you're saying that I'm thinking everybody can open their heart, space, their sense of awareness, consciousness, being, to not otherize the other.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes, yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Everybody can just open that just a little bit.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. And with that comes the ability also to listen to the other.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yes.

[Eckhart Tolle]

The ability to listen means there must be a little bit of space in you, a little bit of awareness in you. True listening implies that you are still. While you listen, you give your complete attention to the other. And that changes the relationship because that brings in the spiritual dimension or the transcendent dimension, whatever you want to call it, you need to be able to bring the stillness into the relationship. And another thing happens when you listen to another. In that still moment when you're listening, you're not only aware of what the other person is saying in that stillness, you can also feel a deeper essence in the other human being beyond the words that he or she is speaking. Why can you feel it? You can feel that deeper essence in the other because in that moment of stillness, you can feel it in yourself.

[Oprah Winfrey]

You can only do that, though, when you become aware enough about your own self to know that you are not your thoughts.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

And so that when you see somebody raging against the world, you have the ability to step back and know that they are not their rage. That beneath the Rage. Beneath the anger, beneath the pain, beneath the sadness, beneath whatever they're showing to you, there is the pure consciousness that is also you.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes, yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Well, if we all could do that, then. Well, then there'd be no need for us to have this conversation.

[Eckhart Tolle]

That's right.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yes. Despite the level of suffering people are inflicting upon themselves and on one another, do you have hope that people will wake up?

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. It's inevitable for consciousness to arise more fully on the planet because it's part of the entire evolutionary impulse of the universe is towards consciousness. So it is arising, it can be delayed, and that's not a bad thing. Delays can only have a deepening effect.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Ultimately, what's the way forward?

[Eckhart Tolle]

The way forward is for the individual to take responsibility, to remember that the most important thing is not what's happening out there. What is primary is my. I'm saying now, my state of consciousness at this moment is primary. That determines what form the future will take. So important thing to realize is what happens to you is much less important than how you respond to what happens that determines your life. It's not the things that happen to you that determines your life ultimately, it's how do I respond to what happens. And that is also your area of freedom. You can choose to respond consciously to what happens. Then you're not at the mercy of what happens to you.

[Oprah Winfrey]

What is the purpose of the soul?

[Eckhart Tolle]

Well, by soul, I have another word for it. I've recently been using the pointer the deep I.

[Oprah Winfrey]

The deep I.

[Eckhart Tolle]

The deep I. At that level of the deep I, which is consciousness itself, you are already complete. The deep I has nothing to achieve. All that the deep I wants is to come more fully into this dimension. So there's no evolution of the deep I itself because at that level, you're already complete and perfect and it's timeless. But it comes as it comes into the dimension.

[Oprah Winfrey]

So your soul isn't here to evolve. Your soul isn't here on the planet to evolve.

[Eckhart Tolle]

It's here to come more full into this dimension. You could call that to evolve, okay? But the soul itself, the essence of who we are, is already timeless. So it evolves in this dimension by coming more fully into this dimension.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Eckhart, how do you know this?

[Eckhart Tolle]

Well, it's an intuitive insight. A question is asked and then the answer comes through the stillness. That's how it worked. It's not figured out through the mind.

[Oprah Winfrey]

It just comes from you, through you, out of you, out of consciousness, out of consciousness.

[Eckhart Tolle]

And then somebody else listens to it. And suddenly they go, yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

When you hear the truth, it resonates and it feels like an ah, yes.

[Eckhart Tolle]

It's always recognition.

[Oprah Winfrey]

It's a reminder of what you already knew deep inside. So when are you in an absolute state of well being or are you always there?

[Eckhart Tolle]

There's always a well being. Of course, the body changes. The physical well being can vary. But underneath the physical well being, there's always a deeper sense of well being. And that arises out of the realization of the deep I. That's always fine. No matter what's happening on the outside, the deep I is always fine. That's the experience at the surface of life. All these things happen. The surface of life.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Do you enjoy the surface of life as, yes, deeply, or are you always in this sort of meditative state?

[Eckhart Tolle]

I enjoy it, but not in the way that where I would say, wow, I'm going to see Oprah Gaines. Isn't that so great? I don't get excited about it. There's an enjoyment even. When you called me many years ago, I remember you called me up and you said, I chose the new Earth. That's my. The next election for the book club. And I said, oh, that's great. So I felt pleased.

[Oprah Winfrey]

You said, thank you. I remember you said, thank you. And usually people go, oh, my God. Oh, my God. Believe it actually repeated it. I said, did you hear what I said? I'm choosing your book. And you go, thank you. I go, okay, thank you. Thank you so much. What do you think happens when we die?

[Eckhart Tolle]

Well, the personality dissolves. But to realize that is when the ego subsides and you become aware of your deep I, which is awareness itself. We just put it like that. You become aware of the deep I. That's the part of you that is beyond death. So when you can sense the consciousness in you, then you become as actually aware of that which is also beyond time and that which is ultimately divine in you. The divine dimension, to use that term. And that is what is beyond death. And then you lose your fear of death, which is a good thing. You no longer need to fear when at some point the body dissolves. And that's fine. So something to look forward to.

[Oprah Winfrey]

I think it's going to be a big hootenanny surprise. Yes. When you, as that ray coming from the source of all light, get to rejoin with the source.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

That's got to be a party.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Yes. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Always a joy to talk to you. I'm Oprah Winfrey and you've been listening to Super Soul Conversations, the podcast. You can follow Super Soul on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. If you haven't yet, go to Apple Podcasts and subscribe. Rate and review this podcast. Join me next week for another Super Soul Conversation. Thank you for listening.

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[Eckhart Tolle]

Together.

[Chevy Equinox/Walmart Wellness Event Promoter]

Let's drive, honey. Do not make plans. Saturday, September 13th.

[Eckhart Tolle]

Okay?

[Oprah Winfrey]

Why?

[Zepbound Medication Safety Information Speaker]

What's happening?

[Chevy Equinox/Walmart Wellness Event Promoter]

The Walmart Wellness event. Flu shots, health screenings, free samples from those brands you like.

[Eckhart Tolle]

All that at Walmart?

[Chevy Equinox/Walmart Wellness Event Promoter]

We can just walk right in, no appointment needed. Who knew we could cover our health and wellness needs at Walmart?

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Check the calendar.

[Chevy Equinox/Walmart Wellness Event Promoter]

Saturday, September 13th Walmart wellness event. You knew?

[Zepbound Medication Safety Information Speaker]

I knew.

[Expedia/Wayfair/National University/Walmart Wellness Announcer]

Check in on your health at the same place you already shop. Visit Walmart, Saturday, September 13th for our semi annual wellness event, Flu Shot. Subject to available availability in applicable state law. Age restrictions apply. Free samples while supplies last.