For a start I'd like to say that I think he is ILI.
I don't actually dislike him. I like watching him. He looks funny, and some of the things he says are useful. He is also entertaining.
My problem is that everything is about being "present", to "surrender the ego". As if that was some kind of universal cure.
I'm not the only one who dislikes him for this.
Here is a video where someone asks what to do since she is unhappy about her job and she cannot find another job.
The answer: "surrender, be present!"
I'm sure Tolle must have read Jung and the path of individuation and going beyond the Ego. But in that case he hasn't understood Jung
Tolle himself has been through severe depression and as a result of that he came to the point where he "couldn't live with myself any longer". The following morning he woke up and things had changed. Life looked differently and the depression was over. Consciousness had expanded.
That is the right way of doing it, but he doesn't seem to understand that everybody else has to go through the same painful process.
When you are in a difficult situation and "surrender the ego", then you are doing things wrong. That's like saying that Christ didn't need to be crucified. He could just jump over that uncomfortable step and go directly to resurrection.
When you have a hard time finding a way forward in life, you've still gotta try. If you surrender you escape life. You have to carry your cross to the bitter end, and crucify yourself. You can never surrender. Only die in total dispair. Crucifixtion is a great symbol for this.
But it is possible that the right answer in the video would be that the person should in fact surrender. But only if carrying on would lead to insanity. But Tolle doesn't know that.
As an :Ni: ego he sees everything in that spirit, and doesn't really care about understanding.
Some people see him as "enlightened" and I think he is in fact more "enlightened" than most of us. Because he has been through the shadow and come out on the other side. He is a modern prophet. But he does in fact preach escapism. That's what I see anyway.
I don't actually dislike him. I like watching him. He looks funny, and some of the things he says are useful. He is also entertaining.
My problem is that everything is about being "present", to "surrender the ego". As if that was some kind of universal cure.
I'm not the only one who dislikes him for this.
Here is a video where someone asks what to do since she is unhappy about her job and she cannot find another job.
The answer: "surrender, be present!"
I'm sure Tolle must have read Jung and the path of individuation and going beyond the Ego. But in that case he hasn't understood Jung
Tolle himself has been through severe depression and as a result of that he came to the point where he "couldn't live with myself any longer". The following morning he woke up and things had changed. Life looked differently and the depression was over. Consciousness had expanded.
That is the right way of doing it, but he doesn't seem to understand that everybody else has to go through the same painful process.
When you are in a difficult situation and "surrender the ego", then you are doing things wrong. That's like saying that Christ didn't need to be crucified. He could just jump over that uncomfortable step and go directly to resurrection.
When you have a hard time finding a way forward in life, you've still gotta try. If you surrender you escape life. You have to carry your cross to the bitter end, and crucify yourself. You can never surrender. Only die in total dispair. Crucifixtion is a great symbol for this.
But it is possible that the right answer in the video would be that the person should in fact surrender. But only if carrying on would lead to insanity. But Tolle doesn't know that.
As an :Ni: ego he sees everything in that spirit, and doesn't really care about understanding.
Some people see him as "enlightened" and I think he is in fact more "enlightened" than most of us. Because he has been through the shadow and come out on the other side. He is a modern prophet. But he does in fact preach escapism. That's what I see anyway.