The Key to Letting Go of Negative Feelings | Eckhart Tolle

5 Comments

1. This correlates with ACT therapy

   Reply

2. Life situations evolve in ways we label as “good” because events played out in accordance with our dreams or “bad” because a nightmare ensued, the memories of which we find hard to “let go” of, mainly because the nightmare contains a great sense of injustice, which if not ‘avenged’, festers & the longer justice eludes us. Thoughts & feelings are so closely related, I’m not sure I know how to “let go” of either & not end up repressing them, instead. I’ve recently come to suspect that continuing to harbour certain thoughts, seems to be creating real physical pain for me, which seems to function as a prod to “let go…!”. But in view of all the cultural myths we’ve conceived around far more powerful beings aka fairies & wizards, then gods & goddeses, then a (usually angry) Old Testament God wreaking revenge on wrongdoing, it’s very hard to stop the thinking/feeling circuit & so we all only ever long for a powerful entity to aid us in reclaiming our balance between justice & injustice, which is really what brings inner peace – ending that awful feeling we have about our past incapacity to take enough care of ourselves in the face of others’ efforts to harm us. So we moved now from “God” to “Ourselves” who can be better relied upon to get the better of our enemies in real time – be they the neighbours, or another country. But its worth remembering, when that whirlpool of interminable thinking around old injustices kicks off, that people achieve sainthood by being able to rise above their feelings & ” if only. .” thoughts around great injustice & by “turning the other cheek…”. Thus are they able to “move on” & secure their inner peace.

   Reply

3. There’s a saying, “Are you out of your mind?” And perhaps, in a strange way, that’s exactly what we need to be to truly experience happiness and peace—to step out of our minds and come back to the present moment.

   It’s especially difficult when you lose someone you loved deeply. Your mind keeps bringing back memories, moments, regrets, and thoughts about what you’ve lost. But I’ve learned that constantly holding onto those thoughts doesn’t keep the person close—it only keeps you trapped in your own suffering.

   I’ve been there myself, and looking back, I realise how much pain I was creating for myself by living in my thoughts instead of in the moment. Sometimes, letting go isn’t about forgetting someone or loving them any less. It’s about choosing to live again, while carrying the love with you rather than the pain.
   Whoever reads this message: you are beautiful and worthy just because you exist and thanks to you God can be aware of His greatness🙏

   Reply

4. We react at a subconscious level too, to patterns and triggers. Dejavu is the perfect example (feeling you get when brain recognizes a similar pattern while sifting through memories.) If you are an obsessive thinker or ruminate a lot slowing down through meditation is helpful but sometimes the thought needs to be acknowledged, engaged with and then put away. It’s about mindfulness, and it takes constant practice of catching yourself through recognizing a thought, responding with something like “this is too big for me to deal with right now” and imagining yourself putting it away. Over time the unconscious brain will navigate problems on it’s own. It is impossible to never think.

   Reply

5. I absolutely love Eckhart, he helped me tremendously and what an amazing teacher of our time.❤

   Reply