Eckhart Tolle Biography

Eckhart Tolle is one of the most well-known spiritual author of present times. He is the author of two very popular spiritual books, The Power of Now and A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose.

The simple teachings of Tolle have helped people from all across the world to gather means to attain inner peace. He stress upon the need of transformation of consciousness which he believes will help in spiritual awakening.

Eckhart Tolle was born in Germany in the year 1948. He was born with the name Ulrich Tolle which he later changed to Eckhart. His childhood days were spent in Spain and Germany.

Several times, Eckhart has mentioned that he had an unhappy and disturbing childhood. Till the age of 13, he attended primary schools in Germany. During this time, he had seen lots of conflicts at home. Even he found his school environment quite hostile and never enjoyed his school life.

At 13, Eckhart was shifted to Spain where he started living with his father. His father had given him two options that he could either join a new school in Spain or he can study at home. He preferred the second one as he did not have an enjoyable experience in the school in Germany.

In his growing up years, he got the opportunity to read several books on literature, philosophy, astronomy, etc. When he was 19, he went to England and worked in London language school for few years as a language teacher. At 22, he joined University of London for graduation. Later, he became a research scholar at Cambridge University.

In his late twenties, Tolle suffered from bouts of severe depression that used to last for several days. While dealing with one such depressing phase, he had an experience of spiritual enlightenment which transformed his life forever.

After the incident, he devoted himself in understanding the spiritual awakening. It is around this time that he changed his name to Eckhart. It is believed that the name was inspired by Meister Eckhart, the famous mystic from Germany.

His first book The Power of Now was published in the end of 1990s. It went on to become a non fiction bestseller and was later translated into 33 different languages. His second book was Stillness Speaks which was released in 2003.

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose was his third book and was published in 2005. Besides writing, he is an excellent speaker and conducts seminars and workshops in various parts of the world. Presently, he is settled in Vancouver and lives there with his wife Kim Eng.

The uniqueness of Eckhart Tolle's sayings is that they are very simple and uncomplicated but carries a profound message. Let us take a look at some of his famous quotes.

➺"True salvation is freedom from negativity, and above all from past and future as a psychological need."

➺"The insanity of the collective egoic mind, amplified by science and technology, is rapidly taking our species to the brink of disaster. Evolve or die: that is our only choice now."

➺"All cravings are the mind seeking salvation or fulfillment in external things and in the future as a substitute for the joy of Being. As long as I am my mind, I am those cravings, those needs, wants, attachments, and aversions, and apart from them there is no "I" except as a mere possibility, an unfulfilled potential, a seed that has not yet sprouted."

➺"Thinking, or more precisely identification with thinking, gives rise to and maintains the ego, which, in our Western society in particular, is out of control. It believes it is real and tries hard to maintain its supremacy. Negative states of mind, such as anger, resentment, fear, envy, and jealousy, are products of the ego."

➺"There are two levels to your pain: the pain that you create now, and the pain from the past that still lives on in your mind and body. Ceasing to create pain in the present and dissolving past pain - this is what I want to talk about now."

Eckhart Tolle biography is a great source of inspiration for those who aspire for an inner transformation. Through his teachings, he tries to spread the message that the negative thoughts of our past experience hold back our mind and body which adversely affect our productivity.

We must make efforts to release ourselves from those egotistic thinking and focus on the present. With this, we can lessen our sufferings and appreciate all that we have now. Thus we can create a beautiful world for us as well as for those who are living around us.