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June 14, 2022

Eckhart Tolle on How to Break the Habit of Excessive Thinking.

 

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I can definitely be an excessive thinker, but it’s a practice of mine to come back to the present moment.

It’s an intention I hold in my heart—to be present.

When I manage to slow down or separate from the thoughts somehow, whether intentionally or because something naturally brought me to the present moment, I’ll suddenly realize how consumed in my thoughts I was.

When I can find that distanced perspective that observes what’s happening, that sees it—I will sometimes feel exhausted, or more like, I’ll realize how exhausting it feels! Thinking so much can be exhausting!

And then when I’m more present, more centered in presence, I can see how those thoughts try to sneak back in, how my mind sneakily tries to come back and take over—as if it’s knocking on every door and window of my consciousness. It’ll try to come in by using all sorts of different thoughts—anything, seemingly, that could potentially work. It’s like it tries everything it can, throws every kind of thought at me, to try to see which one I’ll latch onto. Some of them are loud and some of them are soft, subtle, quiet.

It’s an interesting process to observe…to see how the mind will want to come back, how it will try so hard to come back and take over.

Living in presence, being present, is a practice. And noticing when we’re not present is part of that practice.

A few parts of this video made me giggle. I love the way Eckhart Tolle describes how the thoughts try so hard to pull us back—because it’s so true.

You can find the video here.

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