The Peace That Passes All Understanding
Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, Chapter 2, Section 12
Have you ever had something “bad” happen and found an inner calm to deal with the situation that you maybe didn’t even know you had? Not so long ago, I tripped crossing the street while holding a glass jar of milk. Down I went, glass breaking under my hand. People quickly came to my rescue and seemed worried about my knee. It hurt a little, but when I looked at my finger I knew it was the bigger concern.
Suddenly a calm came over me. The people around me asked if I needed an ambulance; I knew that simply taking the tram to urgent care would be best. I calmly gathered myself and off I went. A few stitches later all was on its way to mending.
I wonder how it is I can do so much upset over something small like being a couple of minutes late, and yet when something major happens I find my inner calm? It was the same when we had kids (now grown and on their own) needing to go to the hospital for this or that emergency. I don’t know the answer yet am glad about it; it is good to have some inner wisdom at work in the more serious situations.
In this section of A New Earth Eckhart speaks of people who through tremendous loss, lose their ego, finding their inner wisdom. Be it loss of a loved one or of all their possessions, in the midst of the loss the ego disappears.1 All they were identified is gone, and there is a realization that they are still here, and they aren’t the roles they played before; aren’t their possessions. They just are.
For others, the ego far from disappears; rather it quickly reattaches, often to the idea of victimhood. When people lose what they have, they may come to think that the world is out to get them.
The ego doesn’t care what you are attached to; it’s just happy to attach.
Whenever tragic loss occurs you either resist or you yield.
Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
And yet we all know stories of people who have lost everything and found incredible resilience within, going on to live fuller lives than before.2
What happens if we resist?
Whatever action you take in a state of inner resistance will create more outer resistance, and the universe will not be at your side; life will not be helpful. If the shutters are closed, the sunlight cannot come in.
Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
Rather we can surrender.
…when you surrender, a new dimension of consciousness opens up.
Circumstances and people then become helpful, cooperative. Coincidences happen.
I think of it like this…am I walking down the street with my head down, crying about how terrible my life is? If so, I will never see the sunrise, never find the soulmate (I believe there are many) walking by me, never see the support available to me. My energy is focused and expended on telling myself and others my sad, sad story.
Alternatively if I am looking up and saying yes to whatever is, whatever has already happened, my energy is focused on now, not on the past. I am able to see what is, work with it, and see all the support available. I am rejuvenated by the sunrise, I accept the friendship of my newly discovered soulmate, and say yes to help and support because I know I am not alone.
It is only through surrender that we can be fully present and have access to our deep inner resources.
And, when we do surrender, we also are seeing clearly. Rather than looking for how the world is attacking, we recognize that life is, things happen, now what?
And the world comes up to meet us where we are, and support us.
Eckhart finishes with a further explanation of the peace that passes understanding. If no action is possible and yet we are in a place of surrendering to what is, we experience a peace.
…you rest in the peace and inner stillness that come with surrender. You rest in God.
Now that is appealing.
I teach yoga and mindfulness online and in Basel, Switzerland.
If you would like to be in closer contact, know that I offer a couple of free online yoga classes each week on a donation basis.
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Think Byron Katie…if you aren’t familiar look her up or read Loving What Is. Her story is powerful and she is great at pointing me away from my ego…
Viktor Frankl’s story from WWII is one I always take incredible inspiration from; if you haven’t read Man’s Search For Meaning, do. Talk about wise words!