Review: Eckhart Tolle seminar

I attended the 2 hour Eckhart Tolle in Sydney on 7th March, 2009. It has taken me a while before I could even put "pen to paper" about what I thought of it. Maybe because this review is going to be so different than the rave review I thought I would be writing. And really, I didn't want to dish someone who I truly believe is helping millions of people and whose message has found resonance in my heart.

Would I recommended attending one of his seminars if you had the chance to? Well, if you don't like reading and you don't enjoy listening to audio books, podcast, iTunes download and so on, then Yes. Otherwise, No.

Would I recommend reading his books ("Power of Now", "New Earth")? The answer is a resounding YES. Especially if it "finds" it's way to you. (I will talk more about that in a while).

Please understand that this review is only my opinion and I am very sure that many attendees will have differing opinions and experiences from my own. And I will say right now that when I attended his seminar, I had been without sleep for over 24 hours, which may go some ways towards explaining my experience.

Months ago, when trying to find out more about this author, I had watched some YouTube, showing Eckhart Tolle giving a seminar or retreat in Findhorn. When he walked on stage in Sydney, I felt surreal seeing him in person. I could have been watching another YouTube movie. It was hard to believe that this was a live seminar. I suppose I expected a bigger impact in seeing him live than just via a movie. I might as well have been watching a movie.

As a contrast, I have attended a number of Anthony Robbins's seminars. I remember the first one, also here in Sydney. Long, long days. We would start early in the morning and would not even get home for sleep till way after midnight. The following morning would see us dragging ourselves off to the next day of the seminar wondering where we would find the energy to see the day through. We knew it would be another long day, ending way past midnight again. But when Anthony gets on the stage, the aura and energy of the man energizes all the attendees, even though we numbered in the thousands. It was like "wham" - one moment you are so tired you cannot even keep your eyes open and next second, as soon as Anthony comes on, it is like being shot with unbelievable energy. It was just the amount of presence and energy he exuded.

Not that I expected Eckhart to be the same but I did expect that there would be some kind of "presence". And sometimes, despite the fact that you have read a lot of someone's work, yet still seeing that person live makes a difference. You get something else at a whole other level. Some kind of "impact" - spiritual, emotional or otherwise. But not at this seminar. At least not for me.

I have read his books and also recently (before I even knew he was coming to Sydney), listened for hours to his audio tapes (read by him), and listened to the 10 week podcasts hosted by him and Oprah Winfrey. Yet, I still expected something "different" or "more" in just seeing him life. However, nothing he said at the seminar was "new" and there was no gain that I hadn't already gotten from his books and audios.

Having said all that, I sincerely think his books are truly important. If the book(s) has a message for you at this time, you will know it. You don't have to intellectualize about it (as a matter of fact, please don't). Your heart will respond for you. Also another "clue" as to whether his books hold messages for you at this time is that they will come to you, they will find you. By that I mean, it will not come to you not via your normal way (of how or why you might usually consider buying a book). Someone might give it/them to you out of the blue. Or you might be searching for something on the internet and mention of his book might catch your eye and stick in your mind for no apparent reason. Or you might come across a site (like this) that you knew nothing about, and something in it "speaks" to you. And if it truly holds a message for you, it will re-occur again and again till it materializes in your life.

None of the ideas in his book are truly new. Much has been said by masters long past. But the message, when the time is right, is eternal. Sometimes, to find a way into our consciousness, a different and new channel (for the message) has to be found. And I think Eckhart Tolle is one such powerful channel.

So yes please .. read the book(s). If it makes no sense to you yet or does not resonate, then maybe you can just set it aside for the time being and it may "call" to you again. Or you may have been chosen to be the means to get the book into someone else's hands.

Other Observations

During the seminar, they had 2 large screens so that people at the back of the convention hall could better see him. (I was very lucky. I was in the third row from the front - unplanned but just "luck" or fate I guess). I spent a lot of time observing him. I noticed that he was never ever quite still.

Of course I intellectualize and tell myself that it is the fault of my expectations when I expected that for a man who wrote these books and who told Oprah (and millions upon millions of listeners), that he has no "pain body", that there would be a perceptible sense of peace or calm that would emanate from this man. So part of me says it is only my erroneous expectations of what an enlightened person might "feel" like that there was no such sensation on seeing him live and being in his presence. On the other hand, I also know that there have been times when I have met someone who literally, while in their presence, one feels such an inexplicable sense of calm, serenity, and/or peace. Sometimes it is a feeling of joy. For no apparent reason other than I think those people exude that because that is what they are like inside. And these special people might just be an "ordinary" person I was fortunate enough to encounter - not a famous author or personality or VIP of any kind in the "real" world sense. I got no a sense of this from being in the presence of Eckhart Tolle. Which, let me hasten to say, does NOT void the importance of his work nor even more so, the importance of his message.

But Eckhart Tolle's endless hand, body, and leg movements reminded me of Michael J. Fox. Specifically when he told the world that he had Parkinson's Disease and that he had it even while he filmed the TV series "Spin City". He pointed out then how he had to find ways to disguise the tremors in his hands. So seeing Eckhart's endless "fidgets" did make me wonder ...

Conclusion

No, I do not regret having seen him live or paying that much to see him. It was still a learning experience. But yes, I would recommend that you might better spend your money buying his books and/or listening to the (free) podcasts available from the internet or even watching him (free again) on YouTube. And most of all, a BIG YES to his invaluable message. For all of us.