i do agree with alex to some extent.
here is my 2cent
see buddy first of don't try to understand this concept using your mind.second that don't just think that you gonna get this within a fraction of second .it takes time. its always a journey not a destination.
next you are not just shutting off your brain and becoming zombie.on the contrary if you are fully in now you will be able to use your mental faculty much more as compared to you in the present state.
just understand this with this example.
consider mind as donkey and we are human,for thousands of years our mind has dominated over us its just like we are carrying the donkey on our shoulder. but we should be the person riding the donkey not the other way round.
i wont go on talking more about this because our mind will never understand this. its not a concept which can be grasped by our mind its a state which can only be experienced.
you will understand my point only when if you get a little bit glimpse of now.
how you gonna do that??
there will be small exercises in the book power of now. just try all of them. definitely one will hit you. when you feel something or a glimpse of now let me know . but you have to give a try just sitting around talking about spirituality wont help. you gotta experience this thing first hand.
and if are not interested in trying out the exercises . just wait for few years. world consciousness is increasing now.a lot of people are getting spiritually enlightened now. automatically you gonna get what i am talking with time once a critical level of world consciousness is reached
tashi
How are you suppose to understand things without using your mind? The mind is what you use in order to understand things so we can explain them. Kinda what Eckart Tolle does. Spirituality is a personal experience for each person, so why does everyone seem to use Eckart's method of 'not thinking'? How am I suppose to not think or use my mind but be told to read a book? I have to use my mind to read, and comprehend the ideas to put into practical use. If we are not suppose to think, then why just not say..be a plant, instead of writing so many books and speaking all over the place? I know it is a great money maker, but other than that how is he following his own words? If I am to be the stillness of the cosmos and the stillness of a plant, but both are actually moving just at a rate my eye cannot perceive, then is that stillness an illusion? Does that mean if i imitate that stillness to find spirituality, is that spirituality an illusion also? I know I am real and if I wasn't I would not be having this discussion and learning from everyone. I can stare at a plant, but it only makes me realize happiness comes from my experiences with other people and places that are real, not the illusion that I am enlightened. If GOD created our mind to only come here to ignore reality around us and not think, then did GOD create us to learn not to think? How is that enlightenment?
Can I get someone to just give me a simple answer since I am a simple mind. No metaphors or blablabla, just straight answers. How do I find happiness by not thinking, and not have any consequences later? How does reading a book, and not using my mind happen? How does enlightenment come from an experience of not thinking, which is just another phrase for 'forget about your problems?' Isn't it my actions that led to my problems while the 'donkey' was in charge? By not addressing my problems created by my bad traits(donkey), am I actually ignoring my harmful habits which is creating a repeated pattern because I do not want to face myself? If this is the ultimate goal of Spirituality, not thinking, and we only learn from our experiences in life, then is Heaven filled with people who just sit and stare at each other in silence? Does this mean there is no longer growth because they do not desire experience, only thoughtless bliss? Oh, and if I do not use my mind and just sit in the now, how can I write a ton of books to make money so I can sit at home more and not think to be in bliss?
And you're saying not to live in the past, but I still need my past experiences in order to function in the now. Such as putting the stove on. Is there like a certain thresh hold where I'm suppose to forget the past? Like 30 mins or something? If I'm suppose to know this experience without having to understand it how would you even be able to explain it to someone else? I can not think in a fraction of a second and just be. But I don't feel like I'm helping myself be a better person.. Kinda reminds me of that episode of Seinfeld where everyone is saying "Serenity now!" to get rid of their problems. It turns out in the end they were just ignoring what was really happening by using the "Serenity now!" and their problems came back to bite them in the butt. All these questions seem kinda valid to ask seeing that there is not explanation for them yet. Can someone answer the questions directly please? Not trying to start a fuss or anything I just really want someone to help me out with this. Thanks.