THE DELUSION OF TIME

Eckhart Tolle’s Takes on time

Herby Guerrie
2 min readSep 1, 2021
THE DELUSION OF TIME by eckhart tolle
Photo by Veri Ivanova on Unsplash

Time is a very difficult thing to pin down. When St. Augustine of hippo was asked, “what is time?” He said, “I know what it is, but when you ask me, I don’t.”

Because we often think of time as something linear, as a one motion concept which traveled from the past, through the present, and onto the future. But in actuality, time doesn’t move from the past into the future.

That’s not how it works. The big misconception is overlooking the here and now in its entirely.

And when we do so, we’re identifying with our minds. This moment right now, to paraphrase Ralph W. Emerson, is a passage of the moments that have come before, and will come ever after. The now-o-clock is the only time existed. As the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius puts it, “If you’ve seen the present, you’ve seen all things, for time rooted into all of eternity, and everything that happens is related and the same.”

According to spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle, “the mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master”.

Identifying with our minds is to be trapped in time.

Tolle says, “We believe the past gives us an identity, and the future holds the promise of salvation, of fulfillment in whatever form. Which, of course, both are illusions.”

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Herby Guerrie
Herby Guerrie

Written by Herby Guerrie

I write about self-improvement & practical wisdom for everyday life. —https://herbygee.medium.com/membership

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