Spiritual teacher and Power of Now author Eckhart Tolle gave an interesting talk at Google Headquarters on “Living with Meaning, Purpose, and Wisdom in the Digital Age.”
In this 90-minute conversation Bradley Horowitz (VP Product, Google+) guides the conversation around the topic of information, technology and awareness. While Eckhart feels no technology is good or evil in itself, he speaks of the opportunity and danger of technology and its ability to contribute to our awakening or assist in losing our connection to self.
Some highlights from the conversation include:
Present moment and consciousness are one in the same.
Life can be summarized as – sense perception, thoughts, emotions and awareness. It is the awareness that creates the space for the perceptions, thoughts and emotions.
First practice stillness when you’re not challenged or disturbed by bringing attention to awareness through sense perception (with alertness).
All masters have achieved looking without thinking.
Align yourself to what is going wrong by first accepting it, then you can give it space to approach the “problem” with consciousness.
Distractions and stimulus’ are poor substitutes for aliveness. Their appeal is rooted in a belief that there is missing something in your life.
Overcoming strong emotions: see the connection between the thoughts and emotions you feel. Anxiety, for example, is often created by thought patterns in the mind. Experience the falsehood of the thought through awareness.
